


Up On The Shore

by wordsnnotes



Series: Up On The Shore [1]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magic, Angst with a Happy Ending, Childhood Friends, Diary/Journal, Domestic Violence, Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Epistolarry fluff, Epistolary, Eroda AU, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Letters, Long-Distance Relationship, M/M, Magic, Minor Zayn Malik/Liam Payne, Near Death, No Smut, Rebellion, The Zouis and Narry feels are strong, everything is told through letters/diary entries/newspaper articles, in the form of parental rejection, isn't that a tag already??, kind of, lmao that was a typo but i'm making it a tag, magic is outlawed on eroda but harry has magic and has to hide it, there might be some other triggering stuff as well but i'll tag it as i go, this is gonna be a narrative and formatting nightmare but whatever, yes this is inspired by bbc merlin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-22
Updated: 2020-08-24
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:08:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 33,734
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24562141
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wordsnnotes/pseuds/wordsnnotes
Summary: Magic has been outlawed on Eroda ever since President Cowell came into power, and all the magic people had to go live on the island of Stonell. Things are not looking good for Harry when he finds out he's a magician and his abilities seem more and more out of control. Thankfully, his best friend Niall's mother has the idea to put him in touch with Louis, a magician boy living on Stonell. They begin a secret correspondence and drama ensues.Or: Louis hides his feelings under sarcasm, Harry is too sweet for his own sake, everyone is a rebel, the mums are amazing, Harry's dad is a jerk, and I'm struggling to make it understandable without using normal narration.
Relationships: Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson
Series: Up On The Shore [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2042971
Comments: 29
Kudos: 71





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hi there, and thank you if you're reading this as a wip!  
> Okay, so I'm trying something here. I'm guessing the format won't be to everyone's taste, but hopefully some of you do enjoy it :)  
> I have to credit my three main sources of inspiration for this: first, the Adore You MV for the Eroda setting, obviously. Then, BBC Merlin for the magic plot. And finally, [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSM0lLbVYOo) Florence + the Machine video for the whole aesthetic/vibes I was going for.  
> Also, I rated this as Mature, not because there's gonna be smut (there won't), but because there might be some mildly graphic violent stuff at some point, which I'll tag and trigger warn as I go.  
> Anyway, I made a [playlist](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4KW8jRUdrt9OjArcWVJKa8?si=hxgYrfnLRQGxYUi1LHwLig), the fic post is [here](https://quelsentiment.tumblr.com/post/626555145247981568/up-on-the-shore-by-wordsnnotes-aka-me-m-32k), and you can also check out the [tag](https://quelsentiment.tumblr.com/tagged/up-on-the-shore) if you want.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The amazing cover art and newspaper edits were made by my lovely friend [Sher](https://citronlouis.tumblr.com/) (rebloggable posts [here](https://citronlouis.tumblr.com/post/625673654848618496/up-on-the-shore-by-wordsnnotesquelsentiment) and [here](https://citronlouis.tumblr.com/post/623466749801725952/i-made-some-newspaper-edits-for-quelsentiments)!)

__

_It's been so long between the words we spoke_   
_Will you be there up on the shore, I hope_   
_You wonder why it is that I came home_   
_I figured out where I belong_

Florence + the Machine — Long & Lost

Year 1

**[Extract from _The Eroda Bulletin_ ]**

Last minute: Mr. Cowell from the Stop Magic Party wins the presidential election with over 75% of the votes and gives a controversial speech

For the first time in Erodan history, a member of the Stop Magic Party has won the presidential ballot against more traditional non-magic/magic alliance parties. This victory follows months of intense campaigning, in which Mr. Cowell had made it his motto to “protect non-magicians at all costs”. After this overwhelming victory last night — some would say, a little too overwhelming to be true — newly elected President Cowell announced in his speech that his main focus would be to “deal with the magic people plaguing the Erodan land and threatening our non-magical ways of living”. A decree outlining more specific measures should be published in the next few hours.

As a non-magic/magic editorial board, we would like to point out that we do not support Mr. Cowell and his party, and we would like to express our support to anyone who will be impacted by the upcoming measures.

🖂🖂🖂

**[Extract from the presidential decree]**

By order of President Cowell and his government, all use of magic on Eroda is henceforth forbidden. Magicians must therefore cease all magical activity immediately if they wish to remain on the island, or leave before the end of the week. Anyone caught practicing magic, or supporting the use of magic in any way, will be brought to trial and suffer legal consequences, ranging from a fine to imprisonment. 

🖂🖂🖂

**[Extract from _The Eroda Bulletin_ ]**

Magic people leaving for Stonell

Following yesterday’s presidential decree, an overwhelming majority of Erodan magic people (including some members of our editorial board) are leaving the island and sailing for Stonell, a neighbouring island traditionally populated with magicians. Our journalists asked one of those people — who wished to remain anonymous — why they decided to leave instead of staying and not use their magic. They answered:

“Magic is not something that you can simply turn off. It is and has always been an integral part of our lives, and this is why we would rather leave than stay on Eroda, even though most of us are deeply saddened to leave a place we considered home and where we had non-magic friends, and in some cases, family members.”

Considering the new measures put in place against supporters of magic, we will restrain from further commenting the situation, but refer our readers to yesterday's paper if they wish to know our position.

🐟🐟🐟

Year 3

**[Extract from Anne's diary]**

Harry turned three yesterday, and of course that was cause for celebration, but I have to admit I’m getting more and more worried that he might have magic. When I brought the cake, he sang one of his lovely made-up songs about blowing out candles, and all of a sudden all the flames went out, but no one had blown on them. I saw Jeff notice it, and tried to argue that it must have been a draught, but I’m not quite sure he believed it. The truth is, those kinds of things have happened before. Harry would be singing or drawing something, and suddenly it becomes real. Jeff is becoming more and more suspicious, and I’m afraid he’s going to accuse me of something — cheating on him? — soon. But I wouldn’t know how to defend myself against his short temper. I have no idea what’s happening either. How could Harry have magic when neither of us do? Is it possible it skipped a few generations? I wish I could help Harry, teach him how to control and hide it, but I know nothing about magic, and have no one to turn to. I guess I just have to pray he figures it out by himself when he’s a little older. But I’m so afraid someone out of our household finds out about it, and turn him in. I couldn’t bear to lose him.

🐟🐟🐟

Year 8

**[Extract from Harry's diary]**

Dear diary,

My mum gave me this notebook yesterday and told me I should write in it. She says it’s good to write your emotions down or something, and also I should practice because my teacher says my sentences are too long and winding, and I really like the word “winding” but apparently that’s not a good thing for your sentences to be. So. I’ll try to keep my sentences very short. My name is Harry. I’m eight. I go to school on Eroda. My best friend is called Niall, and I actually don’t have any other friend now that I think about it. It’s probably because I’m a little weird. Like, weird stuff keeps happening around me and mum says I should try to stop it before anyone else notices, but I don’t know how. I don’t even know how I do it in the first place. And Niall doesn’t mind anyway, so who cares? Yesterday it was Sunday so I went to his house and we played Pictionary, and when I drew a sparrow it became real and we had to open the window to let it fly away, and Niall said it was very cool. But mum told me that no one should find out because bad things could happen to me if they did, so I asked Niall not to tell anyone, and he pinky-swore he won’t, and I believe him because he’s my best friend and you’re supposed to trust your best friends. Oops. I just read those last sentences and they’re really winding, but I guess it’s my diary and I can do whatever I want anyway, right? And now mum is calling me to set the table for dinner so I have to go, bye!

🐟🐟🐟

Year 12

**[Letter from Maura Horan]**

Dear Anne,

I hope you’re doing well.

I am writing to you because there is a sensitive issue regarding Harry that I’d like to discuss with you. I’ve been his teacher for a few months now, and of course I’ve known him for longer than that since the boys are so close, and I couldn’t help but notice that he displays some special abilities (I’m sure you know what I mean). I was hesitant to mention it to you at first because I didn’t want to put you in a difficult position, and I was hoping it would eventually go away with time. But I’m afraid it hasn’t been the case. Instead, those talents are becoming more and more obvious and I’m worried other students are going to pick up on them and tell their parents about it. Do you think you could talk to Harry and see if there’s something he could do to avoid these incidents?

Please be assured that I am by no means trying to accuse you or Harry or put you at risk, and I won’t tell anyone about it. I am merely concerned about your safety, and, if needs be, I might actually be able to help. 

I am giving this letter to Harry and have instructed him to give it to you directly and in private. I’m hoping this won’t cause any problem, especially with Jeff. If you wish to answer, maybe Harry can be our go-between for now.

Wishing you all the best.

Sincerely,

Maura

🖂🖂🖂

**[Letter from Anne]**

Dear Maura,

Thank you very much for your letter and your discretion. I really appreciate it.

Of course, I’ve know about Harry’s abilities for a long time. I’m still not quite sure where they come from, but I suspect they must have been passed down to him by one of my ancestors. I do remember my mother talking about her own mother being gifted, but it's too late to ask her now.

As you wrote in your letter, I feel like Harry’s “habits” — for lack of a better term — have gone worse ever since he turned 12 a few months ago. I talked about it with him many times in the past, and again a few days ago when I got your letter. Unfortunately, he’s never quite known where these talents come from, and how he’s even making these things happen. He’s also realized that they have significantly increased lately, but he tells me that he doesn’t know how to control them. I know he’s starting to feel distressed about it, as he knows how dangerous this situation is, and it must be pretty isolating too. Over the years, I have tried to find ways to help him, but of course no specialist is around anymore, and even books and other resources seem to have vanished. As you can imagine, it is very frustrating for me, his mother, not to know what to do and how to protect him.

You mentioned in your letter that you might be able to help us? If that was to be the case, I would be immensely grateful to you. I would just ask that we keep being as discreet as possible, in particular with regards to Jeff. As you know, he can’t even stand hearing about those things, and although he knows about Harry, that’s a topic that he’d rather pretend doesn’t exist.

I’m giving this letter to Harry, and I trust him to give it to you at school tomorrow.

I hope you are well, and as always, Niall is welcome to come hang out with Harry this weekend.

All the best,

Anne

🖂🖂🖂

**[Letter from Maura]**

Dear Anne,

Thank you for your answer.

I understand the difficult situation you’re in, and as I mentioned, there is indeed something I could do to help you.

Over the past twelve years, I have managed to keep in touch with Jay, one my childhood friends who had to leave the island with her family for obvious reasons. I think it’s better if I don’t tell you exactly how we’ve managed to exchange messages back and forth all these years but, if you think that would help, I could transmit her a letter of yours explaining Harry’s situation. I’m sure she would have good advice to give you, as she actually has a son who's just a couple of years older than Harry.

What do you think? Of course, we’d have to stay as discreet as possible if you choose to communicate with her. If you think it’s too risky, I totally understand.

Let me know what you decide.

Until then, I wish you all the best. It was nice to chat with you last weekend!

Maura

🖂🖂🖂

**[Letter from Anne]**

Dear Maura,

Thank you so much for your offer. It would be such a life-saver if me or Harry could talk to someone who knows how to deal with all of this. As such, I am including a letter to your friend Jay with this current letter, and I would be very grateful if you could make sure she gets it. And of course, I will keep being as discreet as possible. I haven’t told Harry about your offer yet, as I don’t want him to get his hopes up, but I’ll make sure to explain everything to him if I get an answer from your friend.

A thousand thanks again! Harry and I baked some cookies for you and Niall, and we hope you enjoy them.

Best,

Anne

🖂🖂🖂

**[Letter from Maura]**

Dearest Jay,

I hope everyone is doing great. As always, I miss you and Louis very much, and I so wish I could meet the girls too… Oh well, maybe someday.

Here, everything is the same as ever. I can’t quite believe it’s been over twelve years since you and everybody else left. Eroda has never been quite the same, and even though no one dares mention it, I think it has weighed on a lot of people’s spirits.

Niall keeps getting taller by the day, but he’s still as sweet as ever. I have to admit that, besides exchanging these monthly letters with you, hearing his laugh is one of the rare things that I’m looking forward to everyday. Of course, I love my job too, but as you can imagine I hate having to hide my political opinions, and parents can be quite difficult - more so than their children!

On that note though, I am including a letter from the mother of one of my students, who’s also a friend of mine. She has some questions regarding her son, and I thought you would be able to help.

Anyway, I’m afraid I don’t have time to write a long letter today — lots of papers to grade! I hope you’ll forgive me, and I am looking forward to hearing from all of you. Seeing your bird at my window bringing me your letter is always the best part of the month. And now I leave these two letters in its good care, hoping to hear back from you in two weeks as usual.

Love,

Maura

🖂🖂🖂

**[Letter from Anne]**

Dear Jay — if you don’t mind me using your first name,

My name is Anne. I am a friend of Maura’s, and she also happens to be my son Harry’s teacher. Harry just turned 12 a couple of months ago, and since then we’ve noticed an increase in incidents that have been happening since he was a child, but seem to be more and more frequent these days. Basically, I am pretty sure he inherited magic from someone in my family. More specifically, he seems to be able to make things appear out of thin air when he’s drawing or singing, or generally engaging in a creative activity. As a non-magic person, I have no idea if that’s a common gift. I know everyone’s abilities are a little different, but have you ever heard of something similar? 

Now my worry, of course, is that Harry would get caught by someone with ill intentions who would report him to Erodan authorities. Who knows what would happen then. I wasn’t too anxious about it until Harry turned 12, because these incidents were only happening occasionally. But now that they seem to be occurring every few days, I don’t know what to do. Harry tells me he can’t control them, and doesn’t really understand how he’s making these things happen in the first place.

Maura told me you have a son who’s a little older than Harry, and I was wondering if you had the same kind of experience with him too. I know the situation for you on Stonell is very different, but I was hoping you might have some advice for us as to how Harry could be a little more discreet, or control his magic to some extent?

Thank you in advance if you take the time and the risk to answer us. Harry and I would be very grateful if you did.

In the meantime, I hope you and your family are doing well.

Sincerely,

Anne

🖂🖂🖂

**[Extract from Louis' diary]**

So mum just came into my room to have a “serious conversation” with me. I was afraid she found out about how I enchanted the broom yesterday so I didn’t have to clean my room myself, and went out with Zayn (and Liam… *big big sigh*) instead. But no, it wasn’t about that at all. Apparently she just got a letter from a non-magic woman in Eroda whose son has magic, which is kinda weird but apparently can happen. The poor guy just turned 12 and of course his magic is popping off, and he can’t control it because he never learned to. Obviously on Eroda it’s problematic and could even be dangerous if he got caught by the wrong people. So anyway mum asked me — more like, ordered me — to write to this guy and help him. Why me, you ask? Very good question, dear diary! I’m not really sure myself. According to her, it would be easier if I could communicate with this boy Harry directly, since I went through my magical spike recently and it’s fresh in my memory, and I can speak to him from first-hand experience or whatever… So I’m supposed to write him a letter and introduce myself and offer him my help and “be nice for once”, even though I know nothing about him and we’ll never ever meet for obvious reasons. On top of that, I’m supposed to find a way for us to exchange letters safely and privately, because mum thinks it’s too risky to use her bird for them as well. I tried to argue and tell her I was too busy, but she just laughed and totally dismissed me. The problem is I’m only 14 and no one takes me seriously, but it’s TRUE I’m super busy. When it’s not school or magic practice or homework, I have to babysit the girls and do household chores. I hardly have any time to hang out with Zayn as it is. And now I’m supposed to make friends and help an Erodan guy who can’t control his magic, and who I’m pretty sure is a brat? That’s just not fair. 

🖂🖂🖂

**[Letter from Jay]**

Dear Anne,

Reading your letter broke my heart a little. I wish things on Eroda were better and you didn’t have to fear for your son’s safety just because he has magic. I am sorry that you are in such a difficult situation, and I’ll try my best to help you.

You’re right in saying that magical abilities differ from person to person. For example, I have the gift to communicate with animals and can ask them for favours, while my son Louis can enchant inert objects. So it’s totally possible that Harry’s gift is linked to art and creativity. But although everyone is different, the overall mechanisms of magic are the same, and one of them is that there is a “spike” when a child turns 12. They definitely display magical abilities prior to that, but 12 is the age at which these abilities fossilize and specialize in one thing. It can be quite an intense period, especially if it goes unchecked like for Harry, and it’s really recommended that the kids get some training at this point. Otherwise, as you mentioned, their abilities can become a little out of control. So, with that being said, I thought maybe it would be for the best to put Harry and my son Louis directly in contact. Louis is 14 and has just gone through his spike, so he knows exactly what it feels like and how to gain control of one’s magic. I talked to him and he agreed to send Harry a letter, but I thought it would be safer if the boys used their own line of communication. So Louis had the idea to enchant a bottle containing a letter that he will throw into the sea on the last day of the month, and will arrive on the north side beach of Eroda, right by the moon-shaped rock at 6 a.m. the next day. Hopefully Harry won’t run into any problem getting it. The letter will contain more information as to how to reply to Louis.

I hope this system works, and I know Louis will do his best to help Harry, even though he might come across as a little reluctant. And if you need to contact me, you can do it through Maura again.

I wish you and Harry all the best through these trying times, and I keep you in my thoughts.

Sincerely,

Jay

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 1 is almost done and will probably be up in the next few days!  
> In the meantime, any/all feedback is appreciated :) I'm honestly not really sure where I'm going with this one. I have a general idea of what's going to happen, but I don't know if I'll stick with this format, and how slow or fast-paced it's going to be. So, if you have any suggestions or preferences, please feel free to let me know 😊


	2. I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Louis and Harry exchange their first letters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back!  
> Here is chapter 1, hope you enjoy :)  
> Just a heads-up that I'll *try* to update once a week from now on, but don't come for me if I don't 😅

**[Letter from Louis]**

Hi,

So I’m Louis and hopefully you followed the instructions and you’re Harry and not some random Erodan who found this bottle on the beach and thought it was okay to read other people’s mail. Anyway.

My mum told me you need help because you’re going through your spike, and no one can teach you how to control your magic, with you living on Eroda and all that. Tough luck, mate. Honestly I don’t really know what my mum is thinking because I’m only 14 and obviously not a professor or anything. But according to her it’s good to “learn from your peers” or whatever, so here we are.

Apparently you just turned 12, so that’s why your magic has been acting out lately. Nothing to worry about, except actually on Eroda that’s not the best, I guess. So you’ll have to learn to keep it in check, which is a long and boring process, and I can *try* to help you with it. But for that I kinda need to know what you can do. And now I’m just realizing you probably don’t know anything about the basics of magic to begin with, so maybe I can give you a little Magic 101.

So, first thing to know: everybody’s magic is different, and kind of linked to each person’s sensibility and personality. For example, I can enchant random objects which, according to my mum, means that I’m a down-to-earth and practical person. Sexy, innit? Meanwhile, my best mate Zayn can sense people’s emotions and even envision them when they’re really intense, which is the coolest but also kinda embarrassing sometimes. And his annoying crush Liam has a healing and fixing gift. So yeah, as you see, it can become problematic if you can’t control your magic, because you might end up making random objects move when you don’t mean to, reading people’s minds 24/7, or fixing things that don’t need to be fixed. But it takes a lot of training and mental strength to get to the point where you can selectively do it, and honestly most of us slip out sometimes. Soooo… Yeah, you need to tell me exactly what your gift is, how often it happens, in which situations, what you’re feeling and what you think about when it does. That kind of thing. And maybe, just maybe, I’ll be able to help you.

Here’s how it’s going to work to exchange our letters: I enchanted this bottle so that it would travel back and forth between our islands every two weeks. So just write your reply, put it in the bottle and SEAL THE BOTTLE (to prevent water damage, and also the mermaids won't be able to open it that way). Then throw it into the sea at the same spot you originally got it at 10 pm on the 14th of this month, so that it arrives on the morning of the 15th for me. And then I’ll send my reply so that it arrives on the 1st of next month, same time, same place as before. Repeat until you master your magic. Got it? (That’s a rhetorical question, I’m assuming you got it, but we’ll see on the 15th if you did).

I have to go do my homework now.

Nice to meet you etc., I guess.

Bye,

Louis

🖂🖂🖂

**[Extract from Harry’s diary]**

Dear diary,

I just got my first letter from Louis, the Stonell boy who’s gonna help me with my magic. It was very exciting because I had to wake up at dawn and bike to the beach to fetch the letter, and I know mum was a little worried that I was out by myself so early, but everything went well! I arrived on the beach just as the sun was beginning to rise, and it was very beautiful — I’d never seen the sea at that time of day and I kind of wish I’d brought something to paint it. But maybe another time. Anyway, the letter was waiting for me in a glass bottle that was just next to the moon-shaped rock at the end of the beach, and I grabbed it and quickly went away because I was afraid someone would see me. But the only person I saw on the way back was our old neighbour Ms. Fletcher just as I was reaching our street, and she hardly payed attention to me (she was talking to her dog).

Now I’m back in my room and I have to leave for school pretty soon, but I still had time to read the letter. I don’t really know what to think actually. Louis sounds a bit… rude, I guess? Or like, snarky? He hardly introduced himself or anything. I know we’re not necessarily supposed to make friends, but I was hoping he’d be nicer. I guess I’ll just have to shower him with kindness like mum taught me, and hopefully I can get on his good side. Anyway, he did tell me some useful stuff about magic already. Apparently your gift matches your personality or something, so I guess that means I’m pretty artistic and creative, and that makes me happy! Louis asked me to describe my abilities to him in detail, and I have two weeks before I have to send the bottle back with my letter, so I definitely have time to do it. But to be honest, I’m kinda too excited to wait, so I think I’ll start drafting it tonight after school. Speaking of which, I have to go now.

🖂🖂🖂

**[Letter from Harry]**

Dear Louis,

Thank you very much for your letter. I did get it safely without any interlopers to ruin this correspondence. I’m very grateful that you’re taking the time to do this even though you don’t know me. And on that note, I thought it would be nice to introduce myself a little bit. Hopefully you don’t mind, and I’d love to know more about you too!

As you know already, my name is Harry and I’m 12. I've spent my whole life on Eroda, which is not surprising I guess. I live with my mum and dad and I’m an only child. It’s a little boring sometimes, but fortunately my best friend Niall lives right nearby so we can hang out all the time. And I do love going to school too, because I love to learn! My favourite subject is art, especially painting. And I love to sing and write too. Basically anything creative. My mum tells me I have the soul of an artist, and apparently it’s been like that ever since I was born. I could sing before I could talk and I ruined the walls of my room many times because I thought it was okay to draw on them — which, I still don’t understand why it’s such a big deal, it’s only walls after all…

Anyway, thank you for telling me all that stuff about magical abilities being linked to your personality. I didn't know that. And you’re right, I basically don’t know anything about magic, since none of my parents, and no one that I know of on Eroda has magic too. I don’t even know why I have it, but according to my mum one of her ancestors might have transmitted the gift to me after it skipped a few generations. But she won’t give me more details, and also she avoids talking about it in front of my dad because he would get angry. He really hates magic, and even though of course he knows about me, it’s kind of a taboo topic around the house. But the problem is that, as you say, my magic has been acting out lately, probably because of that “spike” you mentioned. I can’t really control it and there’s been a few times where it has happened in front of my dad, and he pretended not to see it but I think he’ll snap eventually. And it’s happened at school too, but I don’t think anyone except Niall — who knows about me — has noticed. I guess it’s only a matter of time though, and that’s why I really need help figuring out how to control it.

You asked me to describe my gift in detail, so I’m gonna try my best. Unsurprisingly, I think it’s linked to my creativity. Basically, sometimes I’m creating something, and it then magically… becomes real, I guess. Like, say, I’d be painting an apple during our art class, and all of a sudden I have an apple in my hand. Or I’d be writing a poem about a thunderstorm, and then there’s one outside, even though it’s not the season. At first it was only happening when I was super focused and kind of forgetting the world around me, but now it’s almost systematic even when I’m not that involved in the process. So yeah, as you can imagine it’s a little scary and inconvenient because I wouldn’t want to create disasters and I have to be careful about what I’m putting on the page. I guess an easy way to make it stop would be to stop creating anything, but first off art classes are mandatory at school, and also, as I said, it’s a very important part of my life and I don’t know if I could go without. 

You also asked me to tell you what I was feeling and thinking about when these incidents happen. Honestly, it’s kinda hard to say. As I mentioned, at first it was only happening in situations where I was so focused on what I was doing and got so lost in my imagination that I would forget about my surroundings and everything that may have been happening around me. Then, after a while, it’s like something would snap in my brain and *bang*… the thing I was creating appeared. And now it’s still like that, except I don’t have to reach this state of deep focus for it. I’ll be distractingly sketching something or humming random lyrics, and then there’s that snap in my brain, and you know the rest. That’s the best way I can describe it, I think. I’m usually better with words, but it’s such a weird feeling, and it’s so quick too. But hopefully you’ll know what I’m talking about. Or maybe not. Is the mechanism for magic basically the same for everyone, even though it’s translated in different ways depending on each person’s specific gift? I’d love to know more about all of this, it sounds pretty fascinating. I wish there were still books that I could read on the subject, but they were all destroyed after all the magicians left Eroda.

Anyway, that’s enough for today, I think. I’m sorry if that letter was annoying. I’m afraid I babbled a lot, but it’s also the first time I’m writing to someone and I’m pretty excited about it! As I said, I’m very grateful for your help and I hope we can become friends in the process. I’m gonna throw the bottle in the sea tonight as you asked me to, and hopefully it’ll arrive safely on Stonell tomorrow.

I hope you and your family are doing well and I’m looking forward to your next letter.

All the best,

Your friend Harry

🖂🖂🖂

**[Extract from Louis and Zayn’s conversation on Louis’ copybook]**

This is soooo boring, I hate math.

I know. Please distract me.

Well, I didn’t have time to tell you earlier, but I got the first letter from that guy I’m supposed to be helping.

Oh yeah? What’s he like?

Dude, it’s so weird… He’s only 12 but he writes like an adult, like he’s so polite and uses big words and stuff.

So a bit of a nerd then?

Yeah I guess. I mean he sounds nice, but maybe a little too nice, you know? The kind of person that’s always smiling and always positive about everything, and that you just want to grab by the shoulders, and shake them, like “wake up!!”

Ha! I see. It’s not gonna be a great match with you then.

Yeah, I doubt he enjoys my brand of sarcasm, but there’s no way I’m changing it for him, so he’ll have to deal with it.

But what’s his talent though?

Apparently he can turn his art into reality. Like he’ll be drawing something and then it appears.

Wow. That’s actually pretty cool.

Tell me about it. I’m kinda jealous, not gonna lie. Why is it that I got the most boring gift of all time?

What do you mean? Enchanting objects is super convenient.

Yeah, “convenient”. Talk about exciting. It’s not like I can read people’s minds, or magically heal injuries.

Whoa, wait a minute. Did you just compliment Liam??

I complimented his GIFT. I won’t lie, it’s pretty impressive that he can do that. But the guy is still excessively dull.

You should give him a chance, he’s actually very funny once you get to know him.

Pff. You just have a crush on him.

Maybe I do, what about it? Are you jealous???

Me, jealous? Please…

You’re blushing.

I am NOT.

Loueh… Do you have a crush on me?

You’re my best friend.

That’s not an answer.

Okay, I may have had a MINOR crush on you back in the day, but that was before I realized how annoying you truly are.

Awww, Lou… I never knew! I’m deeply honored.

Shut up.

Young Louis was head over heels for me, how cute!

Shut up.

Fyi, I never had a crush on you babes.

I’m not answering anymore.

You were probably a little too extra for me, but I still love you. Platonically, that is.

Shit you were serious?

Lou??

Whatever, we should probably focus anyway.

<3

<3

🖂🖂🖂

**[Draft for Louis' reply to Harry]**

~~Hey! Hello Harry, Dear Harry, Oi oi!~~ Hi Harry,

~~Please accept my apologies for my cavalier tone in my first letter. I do hope I didn’t offend you.~~

~~‘Sup mate? By the way sorry about last time, I was kinda rude right?~~

~~Thank you very much for your letter, you sound very nice and sweet and adorable and wtf am I doing???~~

🖂🖂🖂

**[Extract from Louis' diary]**

I’m supposed to write my reply to Harry today because the bottle has to leave tonight. I had two weeks to do it, but of course I waited until the last minute to start it. To be honest I was kind of dreading doing it because I feel bad about my first letter. I re-read his letter many times over the past few days, and he’s so… friendly and sweet. I know in comparison I must have sounded like a rude emotionless bastard. So I feel like I should apologize, but we all know I’m bad at apologies. I’ve been trying to start the letter for twenty minutes now, but it’s SO difficult. I really wish mum hadn’t put me in this situation, but oh well. It’s too late now I guess. I know I’ll get it right eventually, but I just wish I could be doing something else right now. Also this guy clearly has a way with words and I just don’t, and honestly that’s a little embarrassing. 

Update: okay I’m back from sending the letter at the beach. In the end I just went for it and wrote everything that crossed my mind. I didn’t even re-read it because I would have ended up striking every sentence out. I feel like it was way too personal at times and hardly sounded like myself, but whatever. What’s done is done. I don’t want to think about it anymore, so I’ll just go to bed and hopefully I’ll fall asleep fast.

🖂🖂🖂

**[Letter from Louis]**

Hi Harry,

I hope you’re doing well. Before we start, I wanted to say I’m sorry if I came across as a bit rude and blunt last time. As it turns out, I’m pretty bad at talking to strangers, especially through letters. So I hope you’ll forgive me.

It was nice to get to know you a little, and you’re welcome to tell me more, if you want to. Like, what kind of things do you paint? Also, you obviously seem to be a good writer. What do you usually write about? And do you read a lot as well?

As for me, I gotta admit I’m not much of an artist, I don’t think. But I do love a good book from time to time. The kind that makes you travel to another universe, you know? Otherwise, most of the time I’m too busy with my sisters to do anything else. I have four of them, all younger than me, and have to take care of them when my mum is working. I love them all very much, obviously, but I must admit I kinda envy you for being an only child. I wish I could spend ten minutes in my room by myself without getting interrupted because they want me to enchant their teddy bear. As I mentioned in my first letter, I have a best mate too, his name is Zayn. I met him after we left Eroda, as his family has been living on Stonell for generations, and we ended up moving right next to their house. I was only two at the time, and my mum told me that I was very sad and distressed with everything that had happened, but the minute I saw Zayn it’s like I was happy again. So yeah, it’s safe to say we’re very close, even though I don’t approve of his taste in guys lately. But I won’t annoy you with that, haha. What about you? I mean, you mentioned you were friends with Niall. Obviously I’ve heard of him many times because our mums are friends, but I’d be curious to know more about him.

Anyway, moving on from the chit-chat part of this letter, let’s talk about magic. First off, let me just say it really sucks that your dad hates it. Does he have a particular reason to? I mean, I know a lot of non-magicians on Eroda have a problem with us, but to be honest I never really understood why… Do you think he might change his mind someday and be more supportive of you?

About your gift… It sounds amazing, truly. But I can see how being able to turn art into reality would feel overwhelming and scary, especially if you can’t control it. Everything you described sounds totally normal though, like the fact that it doesn’t require you to be in a special mindset to do magic anymore. That’s totally part of the spike. Also that “snap” in the brain you mentioned: it’s definitely a thing for all magicians, but we call it the switch. And if you pay really close attention, you should be able to feel your fingers tingling leading up to it. I think your first task should be to get familiar with that feeling. You’re lucky enough to be able to choose the moments where you’re creative, so I would suggest to try creating stuff when you’re by yourself, and see if you can feel this tingling sensation that leads to magic. Then your primary goal for now is going to be to stop magic from happening — once you master this part, we can move on to making magic happen when you need it, but that’s further down the road. 

Anyway, here’s how it goes to block your magic. Basically you’ll need what we call an anchor. It can be anything: a memory, a person, a song, an image, or a feeling. But it needs to be something that keeps you grounded to reality, so that when you feel this tingling sensation, you just have to think about your anchor, and it’s so overwhelming that it distracts your brain and all your energy focuses on the anchor instead of producing magic. It can take a long time to find the right anchor, because as I said, it has to be something that’s really intense and important to you, and that’s not the kind of thing that’s easy to find when you’re only 12. Also, once you find it, it most likely won’t change throughout your lifetime. I mean, it’s been known to happen, but that’s pretty rare. So, yeah, that’s about it for today’s “lesson”. Just try finding your anchor, but don’t be worried if it takes a while, I guess. You’ll get there eventually. And obviously, feel free to send me questions, although I’m still not sure I’m the best teacher. I don’t even know if my explanations make sense. Do they??

I’m sorry, I really have to go now because I started this letter way too late and I’m almost running out of time to send it. Therefore I don’t even have time to re-read it, but hopefully it still makes some kind sense.

Oh, and it’s really nice to meet you. I swear I mean it this time.

Louis


	3. II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More letters, Louis is lowkey head over heels for Harry already because that's my headcanon, what else is new?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, welcome back, hope you're doing well ✨  
> Thank you so much to everyone who gave me feedback since the last time I posted, you know who you are 💕  
> Also, I'm sorry the chapters are so short so far, but I think I'd rather update regularly than make everyone wait for longer chapters :/  
> Final thing that I forgot to mention in previous notes: I'm aware there's discrepancies between the family lives of the characters in this story and those of the actual people they're based on. So please don't be surprised or offended about those, it's just fiction 😅

**[Extract from Harry's diary]**

Summer break started a few days ago and I’m so excited! I finally have time to practice my magic, and it’s the perfect timing because I just got a letter from Louis giving me instructions on how to control it. My first task was to better recognize the switch and the tingling sensation in my fingers leading up to it. It’s funny because I never noticed it before, but once Louis told me about it it became very obvious, so that was an easy accomplishment at least. The problem is that now I’m supposed to find my anchor, but nothing I’ve tried has worked so far. Louis mentioned it could be a person so I’ve tried thinking about mum or Niall, who are probably the two most important people in my life, but apparently that’s not enough. Then I tried with memories, like the time I won the art competition at school, or when we went skinny dipping in secret for Niall’s birthday last year, but none of them worked either. I’ve tried thinking of my favourite places, songs, and paintings too, but nothing... I know Louis said I shouldn’t worry about it too much and it might take some time before I find my anchor, but it’s still very frustrating. Plus, now that I’m going to be spending most of my time home for the next few months, I’m worried dad is going to say something eventually if I don't figure it out soon.

Anyway, I also had a few thoughts about Louis’ letter itself. He sounds way more friendly than in his first letter which, mission accomplished I guess. But he apologized for his tone and I’m afraid he’s feeling bad about it, and trying to be someone he’s not because he doesn’t want me to think he’s a jerk. Which, I don’t think he is. At all. So I think I’ll try to set this straight in my next letter to him.

🖂🖂🖂

**[Letter from Harry]**

Dear Louis,

First of all, please don’t apologize. It’s true that I was a little taken aback by how straightforward and direct you were in your first letter, but if that’s how you are I don’t have a problem with it! I could use a little more bluntness myself sometimes. I tend to beat around the bush and be a little too soft, and then it’s easy for other people to take advantage. Niall keeps telling me I should be more assertive, but it’s difficult. Anyway, you don’t have to change that for my sake, alright? I can handle it — I think :)

Thank you for your letter and your explanations. They _do_ make a lot of sense. I practised recognizing that tingling sensation over the past few days, and I do feel it every time now, so thanks for pointing that out to me! Maybe it’s not much progress, but it’s already nice to have some kind of forewarning that magic is going to happen. As for finding my anchor… I have tried a lot of things, but no luck so far. I was wondering, would you mind telling me what _your_ anchor is? I think it would help me to have a specific idea of what an anchor can be, because it feels like I’m going around in circles right now.

That’s it for the magic updates, I think. As you can see it’s not much, but I’m counting on the summer break — which started a few days ago — to practice as much as I can, so that I don’t have to worry too much about it at school next year. 

Moving on now to the chit-chat part as you call it :) It was really nice to learn more about you! I love reading too, although it’s mostly poetry collections, because a lot of novels tend to feature magic, and of course those kinds of books are forbidden on the island… 

It does sound fun but exhausting to have a lot of sisters! I guess none of our situations are the best, the ideal for me would be to have just one sibling. But that’s what Niall is for me, in a sense. You asked me to tell you more about him. Basically he’s a very easy-going person, always smiling and laughing, and he’s also way more confident than I am so it’s nice to have him around because otherwise I wouldn’t be talking to anyone or doing anything. He’s known about my magic forever, of course, as we’ve been friends ever since we were toddlers. But I trust him completely and I know he’ll never tell anyone. And now that I know his mum and your mum are friends, I guess I understand even better why the Horans were always so chill with me being a magician. Unfortunately, as I told you, I can’t really say that it’s the same story with my dad. You were wondering why he and most Erodans hate magic so much. About other islanders, I don’t really know, to be honest. The events that led to President Cowell’s election are quite a taboo topic, and I’m not really sure why this schism happened. Maybe you actually know more about it than me. You said you were born on Eroda but moved to Stonell when you were really young? Do you remember anything about that time? As for my dad, I think the main reason why he hates magic is because he’s always suspected that I have the gift because my mum cheated on him with a magician before the schism. Which she always denied and I’m sure that she didn’t, but yeah, let’s just say things are pretty tense between my parents and between my dad and I. It came to a point where we hardly talk and I just try to keep a low profile whenever he’s around, but it’s difficult. What about you? I mean, how is your relationship with your parents, if you don’t mind me asking?

Also, Zayn sounds pretty amazing. I guess he’s your Niall! Please tell me more about why you don’t like his taste in guys though, I love that kind of gossip! I guess I’m too young to care about that stuff, but I love listening to other people talk about their love interests. Niall always falls in love with every girl he meets, but the poor guy hasn’t been lucky so far. It’s not for lack of trying though. It seems a little bit ridiculous to me because we’re only 12 anyway, but I guess I’ve never fallen in love so what do I know? What about you? Ever been in love? Sorry, maybe that’s too personal. It’s just so much easier to write words instead of speaking them, and sometimes I forget an actual person is going to read them. It also helps that we’re probably never going to meet, so it’s like there’s no pressure as to what you might think of me. But now I feel like I’m using you as my diary, and maybe that’s not fair. So please feel free to ignore any question you don’t want to answer, and tell me if I’m too much. I know I am sometimes.

I think that’s it for today. Oh wait, you also asked about my art! Which, thank you for showing interest, but if I start talking about it in detail this letter will be three times longer and it’s already way too long. But basically my favourite art form is painting, and I just like to go around the village and the many Erodan beaches and paint everything that strikes my interest. These days I’m trying to only paint things I actually see, as it’s the only way I have to keep my magic at bay so far. But I do miss painting stuff out of my imagination. Soon, hopefully! 

You know what, I think I’m going to include a quick sketch I made of the north side beach the last time I was there to pick up your letter :)

And on that note, I really have to go because I’m pretty sure it’s past midnight already and I need to get up early to send this letter tomorrow.

Thanks again for your help, Louis, I really appreciate it and I can’t wait to hear back from you.

Your friend Harry

🖂🖂🖂

**[Extract from Louis' diary]**

Alert! Just read Harry’s new letter and it’s even sweeter than the last one. Like, will the cuteness ever end? I guess not. He’s out there being all nice and telling me I should be myself and he can handle it, and I’m like, _I’m_ the one who can’t handle it right now. It’s weird, he’s so open with me and it makes me want to be open in return, and with anyone else I would be scared to, but I feel like I could unload my life story to him and it would be okay. He actually asked about my anchor, and I might just share what it is with him, and I know it sounds crazy but I don’t even care. Anyway, I know I should calm down and take a step back because he’s basically a stranger, but also he’s very much not, and apparently he feels the same way, and I don’t know how to deal with any of this right now. Also he sent me a drawing and it’s so perfect. 

And now I’m re-reading myself and I’m aware I sound like I’m in love, and it’s ridiculous.

🖂🖂🖂

**[Extract from Louis and Zayn's conversation in Louis' copybook]**

Another day, another boring math class

I know, what even is the point to have classes on the last day?? Harry told me that they’ve already been on vacations for a few days on Eroda 

Lucky bastards 

Fuck, I forgot my textbook

Wait, we can share mine

Um, Lou? What is this drawing? Have you been an artist all those years and forgot to mention it?

No. It’s a drawing from Harry. He sent it with his last letter.

I see… And you’re using it as a bookmark?

Well, yeah, what about it?

I don’t know, it’s interesting, that’s all.

What’s “interesting” about it?

Nothing. I just think someone might have a bit of a crush on Harry.

What?? Just because I think his drawing is good and I put it in my math textbook?

I never knew you to be that sentimental, that’s all. That, plus you literally bring him up in every conversation we have.

Well I could say the same thing about you with Liam.

Yeah, but it’s no secret I have a crush on him. So…

…

Why don’t you want to admit it?

Because it’s useless, isn’t it? I mean, it’s not like we’re ever going to meet. Not to mention I hardly know him anyway, so it’s completely ridiculous of me to be falling for someone just because I like the way they write and make me feel somehow connected to them, even though we aren’t. Not really, at least.

Oh. Yeah, I hadn't thought of it like that. So what are you going to do about it? Just ignore him?

I can’t… He still has a lot to learn about magic, and I’m not going to give up on him until he masters it. So I guess I’ll just have to keep him at bay a little.

Yeah… And maybe you shouldn’t be carrying his art around, for a start. Just sayin’

Right. Yeah, good call. Anyway, what about you and Liam?

Well… Your boy is going on a date at the beach this weekend!

Wait. Liam asked you on a date? I might be respecting him just a bit more.

Actually, I asked him… But he said yes!

Okay let’s backtrack a little. What exactly did you ask him?

Just if he wanted to hang out together on Saturday

So… You didn’t specify it was a date?

I mean, no, but it’s pretty obvious, I guess?

I don’t know, mate. I think you should make it clear beforehands. Like, I’m pretty sure the guy has a thing for you too, but better safe than sorry, right?

Yeah… Yeah, okay, I’ll talk to him.

Good :)

Good :)

🖂🖂🖂

**[Letter from Louis]**

Dear Harry,

Thank you for your understanding. Sorry, that sounds awfully formal. What I mean is, I really appreciate your patience and your willingness to accept my sometimes blunt personality, even though I’ll try to keep it lowkey. I still realise I was quite rude to you in my first letter, but I think that was mostly due to me being an awkward writer, and I’m grateful that you decided to forgive me for it. But I promise I’ll try to do better from now on. Also now that we’re not strangers anymore, I feel like it’s going to be easier for me to know how to talk to you. About you needing to be more assertive yourself, I’ll return your own piece of advice and tell you I think you should stay exactly the way you are. Your sweetness is refreshing and you know, sometimes kindness is the last thing people expect. I think it can actually be quite a powerful thing, don’t you? Anyway, let’s move on. 

I’m glad my explanations made sense and you've already made some progress! Don’t put yourself down, it’s already a big achievement to perceive that tingling sensation. It probably means that you’re quite attuned to your own body, which honestly is not the case for me at all — it may or may not have taken me a few months to get there. I’m not surprised that you haven’t found your anchor yet though, as it takes several months — or even years — for most people. You asked me if I could share my anchor with you and, well, I should have told you it’s quite a personal question to ask. Like, most people won’t ever share their anchor, or only with one or two select people in their life. It’s considered a very intimate thing, I guess. But of course, you couldn’t have known that, so please don’t be embarrassed about it. And honestly, I get why you’d think knowing mine would help you, as you haven’t had the luxury to attend 20 hours of classes solely devoted to anchor theory and all that. So, what if I made an exception for you and we both pretend it’s for the sake of your learning experience, and it’s not a big deal at all? (It’s _not_ a big deal, but somehow I can tell you’re going to freak out about it, so I repeat, _it’s not a big deal_ ). 

So, my anchor. It might actually answer a question you had about my relationship with my parents. Well, I’ve always gotten along great with them, really. My mum is easily my favourite person in the world, she’s simply the best and puts up with me and how annoying I can be sometimes, which tells a lot about her patience. And I was really close to my dad as well. But he and my mum split up when I was around 6, and I don’t see him that much anymore. A few months before that happened though, my sister Lottie was born, and that’s what my anchor is. The memory of the day my mum and dad came back home with Lottie and I saw her for the first time and everything was just perfect for a while. It kinda went downhill from there afterwards. My mum did remarry and she gave birth to my three other sisters, but in the end it didn’t work out with her new husband either, and they actually separated quite recently. She’s been quite depressed ever since, to be honest. It’s frustrating and a little scary, as I’d never seen her like that before. Even after my dad left, she managed to stay strong for Lottie and I. But now it seems like she’s lost her spark, and I don’t really know how to deal with it. I try to help her by taking care of my sisters whenever I can, but I wish there was something else I could do. I know that part of the problem is that she misses Eroda and Maura a lot. Somehow she probably never got over the fact we had to leave, and it all came crashing down on her recently. Anyway, sorry it took quite a dark turn. But yeah, my anchor is that happy memory I have of meeting my sister for the first time. I hope that helps you a little bit and gives you a clearer idea of what your own anchor could be :)

I think you also asked me if I remember anything from the schism and leaving Eroda. I was only 2 at the time so of course I was too young to be able to remember anything in detail, but when I think about that time I think I do remember feeling stressed and sad and confused. It’s really weird though, because I think that drawing you sent me — thank you so much, it’s beautiful — triggered some memories in me. That landscape does look familiar somehow. I asked my mum and she told me that’s the beach we would have left from when we fled. So it seems like, deep down, I do have some memories of what happened. But I’ve never talked about that time in detail with my mum. As I said, I know she’s not over it, and I don’t want to make her even more upset. So I’m sorry I can’t give you more information about this.

About your dad, I’m really sorry to hear things are tense with him. Pardon my honesty, but he sounds like a jerk, and I wish you didn’t have to deal with that. I also hope it doesn’t get worse than it already is. Apparently you’re doing everything you can to protect yourself, which is wise of course, but the fact that you have to do that infuriates me somehow because you shouldn’t be afraid of your parent, you know? Anyway, please stay safe and tell me if anything changes.

On a lighter note, Zayn is having a date with that guy Liam this weekend. I’ve been criticizing Liam mostly to tease Zayn because it’s the first time he’s falling for someone that hard and it’s pretty entertaining to watch it unfold. But the truth is Liam is not that bad. He’s in one of our magic classes and he’s always quiet and seems pretty boring if you ask me, but Zayn swears he’s actually very funny once you get to know him — which I haven’t, but Zayn definitely has, ha. They’ve been hanging out together quite often for the past few months, but they’re finally going on a proper date and Zayn is totally freaking out. But I think Liam likes him as much as Zayn does, so I’m confident they’ll get together soon. And then Liam will basically be my brother-in-law, so I guess I’ll have no choice but to get to know him better, and who knows, maybe he _will_ surprise me. As for me, you ask… I’m free as a bird! As you say, even though I’m a little older than you are, I still feel too young to care about that kind of stuff, and I don’t want to add heartbreak to my ever growing pile of problems. Also this island is so small and I feel like I’ve already met every guy on it and none of them have retained my interest so far. But who knows, maybe there’ll be new arrivals at some point. And I don’t think I’ll stay on Stonell my whole life anyway. I’d love to explore the world when I’m older. What about you? Have you thought about your future?

That’s it for today, I think. Thanks again for sending me that drawing, it’s so good that I put it on my bedroom wall! I hope you’re doing well and I can’t wait to hear from you soon. 

Cheers,

Louis

P.S: One last thing. Please feel free to ask me any question you want and use me as a diary. You’re _not_ “too much”, and to be honest I’m also starting to feel like I can tell you anything freely. And I quite like that, if you like it too.

🖂🖂🖂

**[Extract from Louis' diary]**

Well, so much for being casual with Harry and keeping him at bay. I shoudn't have added that post-scriptum. I hate myself.


	4. III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This one is quite a wild ride, folks.  
> CW for emotional and verbal abuse and strong language

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi there, welcome back! How is everybody feeling?  
> I'm super excited to announce that this chapter features art by three of my talented tumblr friends. The newsaper edit was made by [Sher](https://citronlouis.tumblr.com/) (rebloggable post [here](https://citronlouis.tumblr.com/post/623466749801725952/i-made-some-newspaper-edits-for-quelsentiments)). She also made edits for the articles in the prologue, go check them out! The lighthouse painting was made by [Pai](https://louhazpride.tumblr.com/) (rebloggable post [here](https://louhazpride.tumblr.com/post/623468937929261056/artwork-for-up-on-the-shore-by-quelsentiment-go)), and the butterfly painting was made by [Cami](https://thechampagnelovers.tumblr.com/) (rebloggable post [ here](https://thechampagnelovers.tumblr.com/post/623296311075241984/its-been-so-long-between-the-words-we-spoke-will)). Thank you so much to all three of them for offering to collaborate, I'm so honored and excited to have their amazing creations featured in this fic 🥰 So please check out their blogs and drop them a message if you like ✨
> 
> A little clarification note before we start: I'm using the fish symbol (🐟🐟🐟) whenever there's some kind of ellipse between two entries, and the letters symbol (🖂🖂🖂) when the entries directly follow one another.

🐟🐟🐟

Year 13

**[Extract from The Eroda Bulletin]**

Last minute: New anti-magic brigade created by President Cowell

Following the recent outbreak in suspicious events potentially related to magic, President Cowell announced in a communiqué last night that a new anti-magic brigade is to be created in the following weeks. According to our inside sources, the brigade will consist of a dozen Erodan volunteers whose primary aims will be to investigate said suspicious activities and, if required, arrest any user of magic. 

This magical outbreak remains a mystery as of now. Indeed, all the magicians who previously lived on Eroda chose to leave the island during the schism. However, our sources point out that some magicians might have in fact decided to stay and hide their magical abilities, but are now starting to make use of them. Another theory is that magical children have continued being born on the island despite the departure of all magic people, revealing that magic is not necessarily transmitted from generation to generation.

In any case, the new brigade will be in operation in the following weeks, and all volunteers are asked to send their application to the Magic Regulation Ministry.

🐟🐟🐟

Year 14

**[Letter from Harry]**

Dear Louis,

Happy new year! And also, happy birthday! I’m sorry the timing of our letters means that you’ll get this almost two weeks too late, but please know that I was thinking of you on the 24th. I hope you had a good day with your mother and sisters, and I’m sure Zayn was there too, as well as Liam of course. I wish I had been there to celebrate with you too. I know it’s useless but I do wish we could hang out normally sometimes. Don’t get me wrong, I love receiving and sending these letters, but I can’t help wondering what it would be like if we actually met each other. Please tell me I’m not the only one…

Anyway, I absolutely want to know everything you did on your birthday. And for the new year celebration as well!

Here it was pretty uneventful, I guess. My mum made a nice dinner and I helped her bake a chocolate cake, but my dad hardly paid attention to us and left to celebrate with his friends from the brigade as soon as dinner was over. So in the end we invited Niall and his mum to come over and we spent the evening playing board games and finishing eating the cake. And at midnight we all went to the beach to watch the fireworks that were launched from the water. It was magical — no pun intended! — and I wish I could have painted something on the spot, but it was too dark and too quick. And since I haven’t found my anchor yet, I’m afraid of trying to paint it from memory now and make fireworks appear in the January sky.

I really can’t wait to find that damn anchor. I know what you’re going to say: “don’t worry Harry, it takes time”, and then I’ll say “I know, Louis, but my 14th birthday is coming soon, which means it’s almost been two years now and it’s so frustrating”. I know I have to be patient, but I guess it’s not one of my virtues, just like I’m getting impatient that we can only communicate through letters. There’s no other solution, of course, but I do wish it was different.

Sorry, I’m going in circles today. I’m just a little sad about missing your birthday just like last year. But I know you won’t care about it and tell me it doesn’t matter. I still have a gift for you though. It’s a painting of the lighthouse at the western tip of the island. For some reason, it always made me think of you, because it’s a reminder that there’s something beyond Eroda, you know? It’s proof that there’s ships in the sea heading somewhere else, and the sailors who see our lighthouse in the distance might have also seen yours a while ago. So I went there on your birthday and it was unusually sunny and bright for December. I spent a couple of hours there, just sitting on the sand and getting lost in the colours and the layers and the lines until the tide came brushing my feet and I had to leave. But it was such a nice feeling to just focus on the painting and not think about anything else for a while. Well, to be fair I was thinking about you too since it was your gift, but to be honest I think about you quite a lot these days. I don’t know, maybe it’s weird considering our situation, but you’re one of my closest friends besides Niall, and I have endless conversations with you in my head. You’re such a great person to talk to, and I know you don’t always feel that way and tend to put yourself down, but I’m really grateful for how patient and kind you always have been with me. So, once again, happy birthday.

Your friend Harry

🖂🖂🖂

**[Extract from Louis' diary]**

I’m not crying (it’s a lie, dear diary, I _am_ crying, but don’t tell anyone). It’s just… How can he say all those beautiful things to me and expect me to be okay and be like “thanks, mate, likewise”? I don’t know why I’m so emotional right now. Well actually, that’s a lie too. I know _exactly_ why I’m so emotional and the bottom line is, I miss him like crazy. I realize it’s a weird thing to say and an even weirder feeling to have since we’ve never met, and I don’t even know what he looks like or what he sounds like or anything really. But I do miss him and it’s getting more difficult every time I get a letter, and apparently he feels the same way.

Anyway, it’s hard enough to admit it to myself so I don’t really want to talk about it to Zayn even though I’d like to, but I don’t think he’d understand. I mean, he knows I care about Harry, but I don’t think he really grasps how much I do, and I don’t want to freak him out. 

Also, Harry’s birthday is very soon too, and I don’t know how I can top his letter and gift. He keeps creating problems for me (I’m joking, obviously).

🖂🖂🖂

**[Letter from Louis]**

Harry, love, where to start?

First of all, _thank you_. For your last letter and everything you said in it, for your beautiful painting, and just for being in my life. You showered me with compliments and you must have known that would make me self-conscious, so here I am being all shy and embarrassed and awkward. I truly don’t know what to say, and that’s not something that’s supposed to happen to Louis William Tomlinson. So congratulations.

Congratulations also about your upcoming birthday. You were a little late for mine (and as you predicted, I really couldn’t care less), and now I’m a little early for yours. But if I know you, I’m guessing you’re going to wait until the 1st to open this particular bottle. If you didn’t and I’m talking to pre-birthday Harry, would he be so nice as to stop reading this immediately and put this letter away until February 1st? Thank you.

Now, for the birthday boy. Once again, where to start? Harry, you and your letters have been such an important part of my life for close to two years now. It’s crazy, I never would have imagined when I sent that first letter that we would actually become friends and still be talking after all this time. I especially did not expect this considering how disastrous that first letter was. But you decided to give me another chance and I’m so grateful for it every single day. You said you wish we could hang out and see each other, and believe me, I do too. I wish we could have the luxury to speak without having to anxiously wait a month for the answer. I wish we could have the luxury to hang out together and do absolutely nothing but be in each other’s company. And I especially wish I could have the luxury to not worry all the time about you being on Eroda. I know you’re being careful and you’ve been limiting ways in which your magic could act up, and I’m confident that it’s just a matter of time until you find your anchor. But what you’re telling me about your father and about the situation on the island makes me dread what could happen if you were caught. And I also feel guilty because I know these letters put you at risk too. Please tell me you’re taking every precaution to hide them, or even destroy them.

Sorry. I meant to wish you a happy birthday and now here I am being alarming. I really am the worst. So. Happy birthday, Harry! I’ll be thinking about you on the day of too, of course. But I have to admit you’re often on my mind as well. What you said about you having conversations with me in your head… I’ve been doing the same for quite a while too. Who knows, maybe we’re having the same ones?

I keep going on tangents. Let me try another time: Happy birthday, Harry! I hope your day is as good as can be, and I know your mum and Niall will take care of that. And I wish you all the best for the coming year as well. I especially hope you finally find that damn anchor, it would be the best gift ever.

Speaking of gifts, thank you so much for your lovely painting. I put it on my wall with the rest of your creations — if you continue this way I’ll be running out of space soon! And thank you for that beautiful description of the lighthouse and what it made you think of. I may or may not have teared up a little reading that paragraph — look what you’re doing to me, Harry… So I’ve been racking my brains trying to come up with a gift idea for you, even though I’m sure you’re going to say it was unnecessary. But you deserve one, okay, so let me do my thing and if you’re embarrassed, well, that’s too bad. Also, I actually had a good idea for once! So, if all goes well, this bottle should contain not only this letter, but a miniature version of my favourite magic novel. I managed to create a spell so that it would return to its normal size whenever you open it, and go back to being tiny when you close it. This way I’m able to fit it in the bottle, and you can also hide it easily — I know you said books about magic were forbidden, and this one is filled with it. I honestly blame myself for not thinking of doing that sooner, because you could have used some help from magic textbooks as well. So I’ll try to send you one next time, if you think it’s a good idea and not too risky.

Anyway, that’s it for today, I think.

Happy birthday again, love. And please stay safe.

Louis

🖂🖂🖂

**[Letter from Harry]**

Louis,

It’s going to be a difficult letter to write, and I hate that I have to do it.

I wish things were like they usually are and I could just thank you for your birthday wishes and everything you told me, and for the book you sent me as well. 

But the thing is, I did not have a happy birthday. And you probably guessed it already, it’s all because of my dad.

The day had started well enough though. I had a nice time at school and then Niall came home with me. It snowed on that day so we had a snowfight in the garden, and then we went back inside and baked a birthday cake with my mum. Maura joined us at some point, and we were all having so much fun in the kitchen, listening to music and singing and dancing while it was still snowing outside. 

But of course, that’s when my father chose to come back home, and he must have had a bad day or something, because he started yelling at my mum that she should have asked him about inviting Maura and Niall, and he basically kicked them out. My mum tried to argue with him and remind him it was my birthday, but he said he didn’t give a fuck about it. So my mum asked: “Don’t you care about your son?”, and he replied: “He’s not my son.” Mum told him once again that she didn’t cheat on him, but he said that he didn’t care either way. I have magic and he’s never going to see me as his son because of it. He stared at me then and you should have seen the look on your face as he said those horrible things. Like he was disgusted with me, like I was nothing to him but a problem to get rid of. By then I was just completely stunned, standing in the middle of the kitchen while the music was still playing. My mum was super angry though, I’d actually never seen her like that before. She told my dad that she couldn’t take it anymore and we’d be moving out right away, but then he said that if we did that, it’d be very easy to have me arrested for using magic since he’s part of the anti-magic brigade.

And I was so scared. I still am. It happened a couple of days ago and I’ve spent most of my time locked in my room since then, avoiding him at all costs. And I feel so guilty too. My mum deserves to get away from this situation, but I know she’ll always put my safety first and do whatever she can to protect me. So for now that means continuing to live with him and I hate it, but I don’t know what else to do. It’s not like I could escape and seek refuge somewhere else. This whole island isn’t safe for people like me. And I could never leave my mum behind anyway. So I’m stuck. We're both stuck.

And on top of it all, as if that wasn’t enough already, this amazing memory is now my anchor. I found out yesterday, when I decided to paint a butterfly to cheer myself up, actually _hoping_ that I’d magically create an actual butterfly and it would take my mind off things for a few minutes. But when the tingling sensation came I couldn’t help thinking about him saying those things to me on my fucking birthday, and suddenly the tingling stopped and nothing magical happened. I tried a second time, and a third, and a fourth just to be sure, but yeah… I guess now I’m going to have to hear those words again and again for the rest of my life, since apparently anchors are forever.

Sorry, this is such a depressing letter, and I haven’t even reached the worst part yet.

I don’t know how to say this, Lou. I really don’t want to and believe me when I say I’m heartbroken that I have to write these words and you’re going to be reading them. 

But, here goes. I think it would be safer if we stopped writing — for the time being at least. I just feel so threatened and unsafe right now, and I can’t imagine what would happen if, on top of it all, my dad found out about our correspondence. Not to mention that he’s watching my every move these days, so I can’t even go to the beach to send and receive them (I’m going to ask Niall to send this one, and I hope he doesn’t mess it up.) So I think it’s best if you don’t reply to this letter. I can’t take the risk right now.

I’m so sorry. I know you must be so worried and frustrated and angry, and I’m not even giving you the possibility to answer. But hopefully you understand why I’m doing this, and you understand that it breaks my heart too. Your letters mean the world to me, Lou, and I’m so happy we’ve met. I miss you so much all the time already, and I can’t imagine how hard it’s going to be to stop talking to you and not hear from you. But I’m hoping that this is only temporary. After all, now that I have my anchor, there shouldn’t be any unfortunate events happening anymore, and maybe things will settle down with my dad. So, if I see that things are better in a few months, I’ll try to contact you through Maura, okay? But please don’t send me anything directly, because I don’t think I’ll be able to retrieve any bottle you send my way.

I have to stop there. I spent all night writing this, trying to find the right words to say. I’m not sure I managed. But Niall is going to be at my window any minute now to get this letter.

I’m including the butterfly painting I was doing when I found about my anchor. Please accept it as a token of my love and gratitude for everything you’ve done for me. Maybe in a way, this butterfly represents those fleeting moments of happiness your words have given me these past few years.

I miss you already, and I’m praying this isn’t goodbye.

Love,

Harry

🖂🖂🖂

**[Extract from Louis and Zayn's conversation in Louis' copybook]**

Hey, everything okay?

I’m fine.

Lou... I can feel your sadness from miles away. That's my gift, remember?

Well, maybe you should use your anchor and mind your own business for once.

You don't mean that.

Whatever.

Is it about Harry?

Look, Z, I appreciate your concern, but I don’t want to talk about it, okay? Especially not on a fucking copybook during math.

Okay. Sorry. Maybe later, though?

Yeah, maybe later.

Hey, whatever it is, I’m sure it’s gonna be fine, okay?

Yeah, yeah, whatever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry sorry sorry 😳🥺


	5. IV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things happen. Harry's dad is still The Worst™  
> But also, epistolar(r)y fluff!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there, welcome back!  
> As always, thank you to everyone who's reading this, leaving kudos and comments, you're the best 💕  
> Just a reminder that I have a [playlist](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4KW8jRUdrt9OjArcWVJKa8?si=kr1szAnKQ1S1u47AphhT-g) for this fic that I'm continuously updating! And I'm taking suggestions if you can think of any song that would fit this fic! I love to discover new songs and I'll gladly add them to the playlist 😊

🐟🐟🐟

**[Letter from Louis — not sent]**

Harry,

It’s been four months now and I still feel like shit. But maybe things are going a little better, since I finally feel like writing something, even though you’ll never read it. But I think it might help me to put my thoughts down on paper.

You were right. I _am_ angry and frustrated. But most importantly, I’m worried. Thankfully we get sparse updates from Maura and I know you and your mum are doing okay, but everyday I wake up with this deep-rooted fear that you’re gonna get hurt.

I can’t imagine how lonely and scared you must feel right now. I wish I was here for you, I wish I could hug you and tell you everything's going to be alright — even if that might be a lie.

I miss you so much, Harry, more than I thought was humanly possible. I think about you constantly. I’ve read your letters so many times I know them by heart, but I still keep on doing it and I worship every sentence, word and letter you’ve ever written to me. I keep a list in my head of all the things I want to say to you if we’re ever able to speak again. Things about your anchor, things Zayn told me and that I thought were funny, things I’ve read about magic and art, things I’ve done with my sisters. And things about how much I love you and miss you. If I’m being honest, H., I don’t think any of this would be normal if we were just regular penpals. What I’m trying to say, I guess, is that I’ve fallen for you. Hard. And I know it’s crazy because we haven’t met in the flesh, but I don’t give a fuck about that, to be honest. You could look like an actual frog and it wouldn’t matter to me at this point. I don’t think I can escape this feeling, so here I am writing about it in the middle of the night, even though it’s as useless as talking to you in my dreams.

But I’ll be waiting, love. However long it takes. I’ll be waiting.

Louis

🐟🐟🐟

**[Extract from Harry's diary]**

I shouldn’t be writing in here. I’m afraid he’s going to see this somehow and find out about L, and then all the efforts I’ve made to keep a low profile lately will go to waste. So I think I’m just going to write this and destroy the page right away. I just need an outlet I think.

It’s been six months since I sent that letter to Louis, but it still feels like yesterday. I’m not quite over having had to do that. But I know it was for the best. He — I don’t know how to name him anymore, “dad” obviously is a no-go, and using his first name sounds weird and too intimate. In my head he’s either “he” or “that bastard”, so I guess I’ll go with “he” here. Anyway, he’s still being very suspicious of everything I do, I feel watched all the time, and I think he’s even been searching my room when I’m not there. So I gave all of Louis’ letters to Niall, even though it breaks my heart because I can’t even re-read them when I miss him now. Which is almost constantly. 

Anyway. I still have hope that we’ll talk again soon. It’s the end of summer now, and maybe by the end of the year I’ll be able to send him a letter. I mean, I could probably do it now through Maura anyway, but I don’t really see the point if he’s not able to answer. I can only imagine how frustrated he must already feel, so I don’t think it would be fair of me to drop a bunch of semi-reassuring updates on him and not give him the possibility to answer. So I told myself I’d wait until his birthday and see how safe it feels then, and then maybe write him and tell him that he can write me back. It’s still four months away, but the thought keeps me going, to be honest.

It’s been so difficult to find things to be happy about lately. Things with mum are a little weird because I feel guilty for putting her through all that, even though she tells me it’s not my fault. And I don’t want to tell her about the situation with Louis and how I feel about it, because that would only make her even more sad and worried, and I don’t want that to happen. And then my art, which is the thing that usually helps me cope in hard times, is not really helping. Because it’s associated with my magic, which is itself associated with my anchor, which is itself associated with him… So I’m avoiding creating anything these days. Literally all I did this summer was spend my time reading in my room and sometimes hang out with Niall, but even that feels risky these days. I think *he* was always jealous of mum and Maura’s friendship, and never liked that I am friends with Niall either. So we only see each other like once a week when I know he’s away on some brigade business.

And on that note, he’s more and more involved with the brigade these days. Apparently there’s been a lot of “suspicious events” on the island lately, but I find it weird that there would be so many other magicians who either stayed after the schism or were born since then. Things around here are so toxic that I wonder whether some people are making stuff up and “denunciating” their neighbours just because they don’t like them. I honestly wouldn’t be surprised.

Anyway yeah. It’s pretty bad all around. But I guess I’ve always been an optimist, so I can’t help hoping that things will get better soon. Especially that Louis and I will talk again. That’s pretty much all I want and all I can think about these days. I miss him so much.

🐟🐟🐟

**[Letter from Harry]**

Louis,

I’ve waited to do this for so long. And I know you’ve waited for it too. It’s been close to a year now, and if it’s felt as long and painful for you as it has for me, I can only empathise and tell you I’m sorry. From the bottom of my heart, I’m sorry. 

I don’t have a lot of updates for you, I’m afraid. The main points are: I haven’t done any magic since my birthday, *he* is still a jerk and a threat, and I miss you. Which is why I’m writing to you right now, even though I probably shouldn’t. But your birthday is coming up soon, and I can’t imagine not sending you anything for it. So I’m writing this letter in a hurry before school starts, and I’m going to give it to Niall so that Maura can send it alongside her next letter for your mother. And if you want to answer me, I think you’d better do the same rather than send a bottle. My every moves are watched more than ever so I wouldn’t be able to fetch it at the beach, and we really can’t risk anyone else getting their hands on it. 

Anyway. I want to know how _you_ ’ve been doing. Not too bad, I hope. Please tell me you haven’t spent too much time worrying about me. But I know you, so I can only imagine that you’ve been stressed for months. But I’m fine, okay? As fine as can be. As long as I avoid interacting with him, I’m okay. And I have my mum, Niall and Maura to support me. So really, it’s not that bad.

Sorry. I’m re-reading this and I realize I sound cold and distant. The truth is, I feel so emotionally detached these days. I guess it’s a way to protect myself from feeling too much and breaking down, but I hardly recognize myself to be honest. And I shouldn’t say this to you of all people because you’re going to be distressed over it, but when have I ever been able to stop myself from telling you everything? Even after all those months, I’m still talking to you constantly, Lou, and sometimes I swear I can hear you answer. It’s uncanny how you’re such a big part of my life without being here. You’re as real to me as the people I see every day, if not more. I can’t explain it. Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if we hadn’t met, and it scares the hell out of me. I feel like you’re the only thing keeping me sane these days. The perspective of writing you this letter and getting one from you in return is pretty much all I’ve been looking forward to lately. 

I know it’s a bittersweet letter. But I really don’t want you to worry too much. Please promise me that you won’t. And remember that I think about you all the time, and I won’t give up on this. Ever.

So, as I said, maybe it’s best if you send your reply through your mother and Maura. And I’ll definitely send another letter, but not immediately. I think it’s better if we space them out. But I’ll send you something by the end of the summer, I promise. I know it’s a long time away, but it’s better than nothing, right?

I have to go now. Class is about to start. But there’s something I forgot to say: happy birthday, Lou! I can’t believe you’re turning 17, and I’ll be turning 15 soon. I feel so much older somehow. Maybe it’s the same for you, I don’t know. Anyway, I hope you have an amazing day, and I’m sorry I can’t send you any gift this year. But as always, I’ll be with you in spirit, and I hope you know I’ll think of you even more than I usually do.

I miss you but I’ll hear from you soon, hopefully, and that makes me insanely happy.

Love,

Harry

🐟🐟🐟

Year 15

**[Letter from Louis]**

Harry!!!

Oh my god, you have no idea how happy it made me when my mum told me there was a letter for me. It’s like a weight was lifted off my chest, and I could finally breathe. I missed you so much too, more than words could ever explain. And you’re right, I’ve been worrying sick about you, especially since Maura and my mum have been forced to space out their letters as well. Apparently things are going worse on Eroda and they’re afraid my mum’s bird will be caught. So now instead of getting updates once a month, it’s only once every few months, and that’s killing me.

But anyway. I’m glad you’re doing okay, for the most part. It goes without saying I hate your dad and the Erodan authorities and I wish things were different. But you know what, I don’t want to focus on anything negative today.

Hopefully you should be getting this letter in time for your birthday. Which is crazy to think about, because it means the last letter I sent you was exactly a year ago. And it’s like, I’ve definitely felt your absence and hated every minute of it, but somehow I always felt so connected to you, despite all the water and the fucked-up things that stand between us. What you wrote about me in your letter… I swear I could have written the exact same words about you. You’re so important to me too, love, and I pray for a day when you’re free and we can see each other. Maybe it’s naive of me, but I still hope it can happen. In the meantime, I’ll be happily waiting and treasuring every word you send my way.

Thank you for your birthday wishes, by the way. They always make it ten times better. And now it’s my turn to tell you happy birthday, once again. It’s kind of weird to think that you’re now older than I was when we started talking. But as you said, I’ve always felt like you were older somehow. Older than me even. You probably had to grow up too fast with everything that happened to you, and that sucks. I do hope you feel like a teenager sometimes, you deserve some carelessness. As for me, I don’t really know. I’ve always had to take care of my sisters — and my mother, to some extent, even though she’s doing much better now. So 50% of the time I feel like an adult, but then whenever I’m with Zayn and Liam and we just hang out and take the piss out of one another, I feel like a child again. And it’s the best feeling ever. So yeah, I do hope you feel like that sometimes.

I don’t really have any updates on my end. Zayn and Liam are still going strong. As I said, my mum isn’t feeling as depressed as she used to, but she’s obviously very worried about the situation on Eroda as well. As for me… I don’t even know what I could say that wouldn’t sound pathetic. The truth is, I’ve spent the past few months in a spiral of “I miss Harry. I hope Harry is okay. When will I get a letter? I miss Harry, etc.” Just to be clear, I’m not blaming you at all, love, I know it’s been as hard for you as it’s been for me. But yeah. That’s just the truth. And I guess I’ve never been able to not tell you everything either.

I feel like I could write ten pages and that still wouldn’t be enough. In fact, I _have_ been writing you these past few months. And I’m keeping these letters for the day you can read them, because I’m a damn optimist and I know it will happen. It will, and I can’t wait for it.

In the meantime, I’m sending you a magic textbook because I think you need to keep learning about it. It’s great that you can stop magic from happening, but you also have to know how to use it, just in case. I know it’s bit risky, but the miniature version can fit in your pocket, and maybe you can arrange for Niall to keep it when you’re not using it? I hope it works.

I’ll stop there. There’s so many things I’d like to say, and maybe you can guess what some of them are, but I don’t really see the point in saying them right now. It would just make the two of us even more sad and frustrated.

So I’ll go now. But rest assured that I’m thinking about you all the time. I can’t wait for your next letter this summer.

Happy birthday, H. And please stay safe.

Love,

Louis

🐟🐟🐟

**[Extract from Louis' diary]**

I just don’t understand. It’s almost the end of August and Harry still hasn’t written. I wake up every morning thinking: “Today’s gonna be the day I finally get a letter”, but it never happens. And yet mum has been getting her regular letters from Maura, but apparently she doesn’t know what’s happening with Harry and his mum either. She hasn’t seen them since the beginning of June, and I’m so worried of what that fucker might have done to them. It’s the worst. I feel sick to my stomach just thinking about it, and knowing there’s nothing I can do but wait. Well actually, mum told me that if we still haven’t heard from them in a couple of months, maybe we could ask the Stonell authorities for help. But two months seems like such a long time, who knows what could happen in the meantime. And also, I’m really not sure involving the Stonell authorities would be a good idea, knowing how tense things are with Eroda… So, there’s very little keeping me from going to Eroda myself and see what’s up. But I know how dangerous that would be for both me and Harry, so I’m waiting. My patience is wearing thin though, and if I don’t hear from him in the next few weeks I swear I’ll do it. I even talked to Zayn and Liam about it and they’d be down to help me. We all know it would be a reckless move, but there’s really no other solution.

🖂🖂🖂

**[Letter from Harry]**

Louis,

Gosh, I’m so so sorry. I promised you I would write this summer and it’s mid-September now. Knowing how dramatic you are, you must have lost your mind by now. And I’m sorry because it’s going to be a short letter. I just want to let you know that I’m okay, and tell you what happened.

Basically he sent me away for the summer. As soon as school ended, he took me to my grandparents’ place, which is on the other side of the island, on top of a cliff and pretty isolated from everything else. I think he wanted to keep me out of his sight, and away from my mum too. He hates that we’re so close, hates that she hates him and keeps choosing me over him. He’s just a fucking jealous baby, in a way. But enough about him.

My summer actually wasn’t that bad, all things considered. At least it was a relief to not see him for a few months. And my grandparents are nice people, if not a little boring. They do have a lot of books though, so I did a lot of reading, I took up painting again, and I studied magic thanks to the textbook you sent me. I’m definitely getting good at using magic whenever I choose to now, but I can’t hold it for too long yet. It takes a lot of focus and energy, doesn’t it? I always feel worn out afterwards. So yeah, it’s been a somewhat productive summer. But all along I also hated it, because I was kept from seeing mum and Niall obviously, and also because I couldn’t write to you as I’d promised, and I knew you must be freaking out.

So, once again Lou, I’m so sorry. I keep creating problems and causing you distress, and I hate it. Sometimes I think it would have been better for you if we hadn’t met, honestly. I feel like I’ve kept taking and taking from you, and I haven’t been able to give you anything in return besides the occasional thank you’s and birthday wishes and art pieces. That sucks and honestly, even though I know objectively it’s not entirely my fault, I still hate myself for it. But I’m as naively optimistic as you are, and I hope one day I can repay you for everything you’ve done for me, or at least show you how important you’ve been in pretty much every aspect of my life since I was twelve.

Until that day comes though, I’m afraid I have to go. I’m writing this before classes, as usual, and the bell is about to ring. But I think it should be okay if you want to answer through your mum. It’s been working well this way so far, which I guess is at least _one_ positive thing to be thankful for these days.

I miss you more than ever, Louis. Please tell me about your summer, and your family and friends. I somehow miss them too, if that’s possible.

I’m sending all my love to you. Literally all of it. Can you feel it, Lou?

Harry

🖂🖂🖂

**[Letter from Louis]**

H,

Yeah, I can feel it. I’ve always felt it and I hope you can too.

I was so relieved to learn that you’re okay, and that he hasn’t actually hurt you, or had you arrested, or whatever. To be honest, by the end of August I was ready to come to Eroda and find you at all costs. You’re right I guess, I’m a tad dramatic. But in case I hadn’t made it clear enough, I care about you an unhealthy amount, so can you blame me if I freaked out, really?

Anyway, I’m glad your summer wasn’t too bad, and that you practiced using your magic. That’s amazing! And yeah, it definitely takes a lot of focus and energy to make it permanent. But as always, it’s a matter of time. And it’s like, everytime you cast a spell, you have to find an anchor for this specific spell: what are you doing it for? What’s your ultimate purpose with it? And then focus exclusively on that. I know you’ll get there eventually.

As for my own summer, it was pretty uneventful. I hung out with Zayn and Liam a lot, and took up guitar and singing because I needed a distraction, and I’m actually getting pretty decent at it, I guess. And now it’s October and we just started our last year of school. It’s pretty scary, to be honest. We’re supposed to figure out what we want to do afterwards, and I have no fucking clue. Like, I always thought I would get away from Stonell and explore the world for a while, but now I don’t know… I’d feel bad for leaving my mum and sisters, and also as long as I stay here I can communicate with you. But that wouldn’t be possible if I was constantly on the move. So I think I’m going to hold out for a few years. I don’t feel quite mature enough to move out and be on my own anyway. What about you, H? I mean, I know you still have a few years to think about it. But I can imagine you’d like to get away from Eroda too. Would that even be possible, you think? It feels like I’m suggesting something, and maybe I am. The truth is, I really believe you _should_ get the fuck out of there before it’s too late, and Stonell would probably be a good place for you to live in. But I don’t know how realistic that is. Maybe I’m just dreaming. And I don’t want to give you false hopes so I’ll shut up about it for now.

There’s one last thing I need to write today. Please stop saying these things about how you’re a problem, or how it would have been better for me if we hadn’t met. You really have no idea, do you? You have no idea how far away from the truth it actually is. You have no idea how the mere possibility of me not knowing you makes me more distressed than anything else we’ve been through these past few years. You have no idea how grateful I am for you, even though I said it countless times already. I don’t know what I could write that would convince you. Maybe the problem is that I’m writing and not _saying_ these things to you. So please, try to picture me saying these three things — I’m actually saying them out loud as I write them: I care about you, and I love you, and I want you in my life no matter what, Harry. Even if things are as fucked-up as they are now, even if it makes me worried and stressed. _You_ make it all worth it, okay?

I have to go now. I feel like I just poured my soul out to you and I’m going to regret it in five minutes. But whatever. It’s not really about me.

Goodbye, H. I miss you all the time. Please stay safe.

Louis


	6. Interlude

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The inspiration for this "interlude" (that sounds so pretentious lmao) comes from Kate Bush's [The Ninth Wave](http://www.katebushencyclopedia.com/ninth-wave-the), in particular the songs [Waking The Witch](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVdTZ7gYuqE) and [Hello Earth](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2jIaTfOGE4). So, thanks Kate, but also thanks Sarah 🥰

🐟🐟🐟

There was water all around. So much water. More than what seemed possible. And so many shades of blue and green and grey and black. Paint could have never done it justice. Wait, why was he thinking about art right now?  _ Louis _ . He had to focus on Louis and Stonell. But where was Stonell exactly? _Follow the Big Dipper_. He’d read about it or maybe heard it somewhere. Was it at school a long time ago? But it felt much more recent than that… _Focus_ , he heard a voice say, and he wasn’t sure whose it was, or where it was coming from. “Focus, focus”, he muttered in response, but the ground was disappearing, slipping out from his feet. It was like walking on clouds. Not that it had ever happened to him before. It made a nice picture though. _Dangerous_ , said the voice, and he knew it was right. " _Focus_ ”, they said together, and his mind went back to Louis. “Louis, Louis, Louis”, he repeated, but the more he did the less it made sense. Every word became meaningless after a while. It was just sounds anyway. He’d read about it too. How each sentence, each word, each syllable, each sound even, could be reduced to a few movements of the tongue and the lips. Unless you were signing, in which case it was all about your hands and fingers. Language was weird. _Focus_. “I know, but I’m so tired. And cold. How can it be so cold?” _You’ll be colder if you don’t focus_ , and the voice sounded eerily like his mother’s. _Focus on Louis, Stonell, and the Big Dipper_. “Louis, Stonell, and the Big Dipper. Louis, Stonell, and the Big Dipper. Louis, Stonell…” He closed his eyes. _Focus_ , he heard again, but the voice sounded small and far away, and he was so tired. Why wouldn’t it let him sleep? _Open your eyes. Wake up, love. Now!_ And the voice was now much louder and high-pitched, and why did it sound so familiar when he was sure he’d never heard it before? _Wake up, love_. He forced his eyes open. There was a light on the horizon, and the sky was turning orange. _Go towards the light_ , said the familiar voice softly. _Focus just a few more minutes. Just a few more minutes. Then you can let go_. So, staring at the light, he put what remained of his energy in the the only word that mattered: Louis.


	7. V

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This one is quite heavy so proceed with caution  
>  **TW for domestic violence, near-death experience, and mentions of a potential eating disorder. None of it is super graphic though.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, welcome back!
> 
> So I totally broke my weekly update rule, but three things happened:  
> 1\. The 10 year anniversary madness  
> 2\. I was busy writing [another fic](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25433956/chapters/61684669)  
> 3\. I knew this chapter would be quite intense to write, so I was kind of dreading working on it. But here it finally is.
> 
> As you'll see, I made the executive decision to switch to normal narration, but I think it makes sense and it was the only way to tell this part of this story properly. ~~(This might not be the end of the letters though).~~
> 
> A final note: I'm posting this on my friend Cami's birthday. She not only was quite possibly the first person to read this, but also made the amazing butterfly artwork for chapter 3! Happy birthday angel, I'm so glad we met and I love you 💜

_There's a lightning in your eyes, I can't deny_  
_Then there's me inside a sinking boat_  
_Running out of time_  
_Without you, I'll never make it out alive_  
_But I know, yes I know, we'll be alright_

One Direction — Ready To Run

🖂🖂🖂

Louis woke up to someone shaking his shoulder and repeating: “Lou, Lou, wake up!” He groaned and opened his eyes. In the half morning light — it couldn’t be later than 5am — he recognized Zayn, who was standing by his bed and sighed out:

“Oh, thank god you’re finally awake.”

Suddenly things registered for Louis and he sat up in his bed, his heart beating fast and feeling on the edge of panicking:

“What are you doing here? What’s going on?”

Zayn replied hurriedly:

“You should get up and get dressed. As quickly as you can. I’ll explain on the way.”

So Louis wordlessly got out of bed and put on the clothes that he’d worn the day before and that he’d left lying on a chair. He glanced at Zayn, who looked extremely preoccupied and fidgety, and he felt sick to his stomach. Something _very_ serious must have been happening for Zayn to come and wake him at such an ungodly hour in the morning. As soon as he put his shoes on, not bothering to wear socks, his friend grabbed him by the arm and said:

“Let’s go.”

As they were about to go down the stairs, Louis’ mum opened her door and looked at them quizzically.

“Can I ask where you’re going, guys?”

Zayn replied:

“I’m sorry Jay, I don’t have time to explain. But I think Harry is in danger and we have to go to the beach as soon as possible.”

At Harry’s name, Louis felt like he was about to pass out. His mum looked as shocked as he probably did.

Zayn continued:

“Actually Jay, could you go to Liam’s house and bring him to the beach as well? The lighthouse beach. We might have to use his gift.”

Jay nodded.

“Okay. I’ll be right behind you. Go.”

When they got out of the house, they started running towards the beach, which was luckily only five minutes away from Louis’ place.

“What’s going on, Zayn?” Louis asked in a shaky voice.

“It’s Harry, I… I think he’s in danger. Like, I woke up and I heard him asking for help. He knows about my gift, right?”

“Yeah… I told him about it a long time ago. Can you still hear him now?”

“No. Not anymore. But only five minutes ago, it sounded like he was struggling to breathe. I think… I think he’s in the sea right now, coming from Eroda. And… we have to get to him. Before it’s too late.”

Louis felt a pang in his chest. He didn’t bother asking what “too late” meant, didn’t even want to think about it. He just redoubled his efforts, even though he hated running and was out of breath already. 

They finally reached the beach a few minutes later. The sun was rising beautifully above the water, and shed orangy pink sparkling lights over the calm waves. Thankfully, the lighthouse was still lit up, and as they reached the shoreline, they scanned the water for Harry. 

“Can you see anything?” Louis asked pressingly.

“No, not yet…. Wait, what about over there?” Zayn pointed towards the east. There was indeed a dark form coming in and out of the surface. “Could it be him?”

“Maybe”, Louis said, and he suddenly remembered he didn’t even know what Harry looked like. “Alright, I’m going in”, he said, removing his shoes and stepping in the water with a wince. Damn, it was freezing cold — not surprising since it was November.

As he was already knee-deep, he heard Zayn ask behind him:

“Are you sure?”

He turned his head and said:

“I don’t have a choice, do I?” 

And with that, he launched his full body into the water and started swimming as fast as he could towards the shape, taking rapid breaths as the cold prickled his skin like a thousand needles.

He’d never really been a good swimmer, and his clothes were impairing his movements, sticking to his arms and legs and weighing him down. But he kept his eyes on the shape, which kept disappearing under the surface every few seconds, but was still getting progressively bigger as he was making slow progress. When he was about 60 feet away from it, he saw that it was definitely a human being. A human being with curly dark hair that contrasted with a skin so pale it looked almost blue. He was struggling to keep afloat, moving his arms weakly, and Louis could hear his ragged breath. He evntually came to his level and grabbed his arm, saying: “Harry”. The boy finally seemed to notice him and their eyes met. Louis had never seen someone look so terrified. The boy coughed and struggled to say:

“Louis… I heard you talk to me. Is that really you?”

"Yeah, it's me."

"I don't understand. How...", and he started coughing again, getting agitated in Louis' grasp.

“Shh, love. Stop moving. I’ve got you now, and I’ll get you back, okay?”

Harry nodded and closed his eyes, his body going limp against Louis’.

Louis grabbed him under the armpits and started swimming backwards in the direction of the shore. The sun was higher in the sky now, shedding golden light on Harry’s curls. It suddenly stroke him that he shouldn’t let him fall asleep. Tightening his grip, he said gently:

“Hey, Harry. Stay with me. You have to stay awake, okay?”

Harry opened his eyes and nodded weakly, coughing once again.

“Try humming something for me, yeah? That’ll keep you awake. We’re almost here anyway.”

Louis turned his head around and looked towards the shoreline, but they were actually quite far from it still, and he already felt exhausted.

“Come on”, he whispered to himself, as Harry started humming an unfamiliar melody with a voice that sounded too deep for someone that felt so fragile in Louis’ arms.

They progressed slowly for what felt like ages, Louis turning around every few seconds to check that they were still going in the right direction. There were now three silhouettes standing on the beach, and he figured that his mum must have brought Liam as she said she would. And indeed, just as he was finally reaching the part of the sea where he could touch the bottom with the tip of his toes, Liam joined them, grabbed one of Harry’s arms, and helped him carry him for the last few meters. Louis noticed that Harry had closed his eyes again and stopped humming, so he started gently patting Harry’s cheeks, pleading: “Wake up, H, wake up.” But the boy wasn’t responding and looked fast asleep, his skin more pale than ever.

They finally reached the sand and laid Harry down on the beach, Liam immediately kneeling beside his body and placing his hands on his chest. Louis had seen Liam use his magic before, but it was only during training, and he would have never thought he’d ever see it happen for real, much less in such circumstances. 

“Is he gonna be okay?”, he heard himself ask in a shaky voice, but he hardly recognized himself. He felt out of his body, hardly noticing that he was shaking all over and that his mum had put her jacket around his shoulders and was stroking his back gently.

Liam answered:

“Well, he’s breathing… I think he’s exhausted and probably in a state of hypothermia. Plus that nasty wound on his face. I can fix that one quickly, but for the rest I just think we need to let him rest and get him somewhere warm as soon as possible.”

At the mention of a wound, Louis leaned down and properly examined Harry’s face for the first time. Curls were sticking to his forehead and he brushed them off, revealing a dark circle all over and around his right eyelid. It was pretty clear whose fault it must have been.

“That bastard”, he said bitterly.

“I’ll fix it now, okay?” Liam said gently, and as he was watching him put his hand over Harry’s eye and work his magic, Louis realized he could help as well. 

He took off his mother’s jacket and quickly cast a spell on it to warm it up, then carefully tucked it around Harry’s body, just as Liam removed his hand to reveal that his eyelid was good as new.

“Thanks, Li.”

Jay said:

“Let’s try to wake him up so we can get him home.”

So Louis gently shook Harry’s shoulder, whispering his name over and over again pressingly. But the boy wasn’t reacting to it.

“Why won’t he wake up? What’s happening?” Louis asked, and he heard his own desperate voice like it was a dream, like it didn’t really belong to him.

“I don’t know, Lou”, Liam answered.

“Wait”, Zayn said, and he ran to the nearby shore, knelt and took some water in his cupped hands, walked back to them carefully and poured it over Harry’s face.

That seemed a little brutal, in Louis’ opinion, but to Zayn’s defence it worked.

Harry opened his eyes as soon as the water hit his face and coughed. He looked a little panicked at seeing all those people leant over him, but when his eyes caught Louis’, he visibly relaxed.

“Harry, thank god”, Louis sighed. “Are you okay? Are you hurting anywhere?”

“No. I’m just... so tired, Lou. And cold.” And it felt odd to hear his actual voice, to hear him call him that way. But he could get used to it.

“I know, love. But we’re gonna go home now, okay? And then you can sleep as much as you like. It’s only five minutes away, do you think you can get up and walk?”

Harry swallowed and nodded.

“I can try.” 

So Louis knelt beside him, grabbed him by the waist and helped him get up.

Zayn came to the other side of Harry, catching him by the elbow, and they started slowly walking up the beach.

🖂🖂🖂

Back at Louis’ house, they guided Harry to the living room, where he sat on the couch, looking dazed, and still shaking despite the heated jacket.

“I’ll fetch you some warm clothes, honey”, Jay said.

Harry didn’t seem to register. Louis was still by his side, wondering if he should do or say something.

Zayn cleared his throat.

“Well. I guess it’s best if we go, let Harry recover. And we have to go to class anyway.”

Louis nodded. He’d completely forgotten that things like school existed.

“I’ll walk you to the door.” He squeezed Harry’s hand for a second, whispering: “I’ll be right back, H.”

Once he found himself at the front door with his two friends, it took all he had not to breakdown. Zayn seemed to sense it, as he wordlessly pulled him in for a hug.

“Thanks, mate. Seriously. I can’t even imagine what would have happened if it wasn’t for you”, Louis said in a shaky voice.

“Don’t think about it, okay?” Zayn replied as he pulled off from their hug, taking Louis by the shoulders and looking at him with reassuring eyes. “The important thing is that he’s safe now.”

“Is he though? We don’t even know what happened… I’m so confused, and I don’t know what to do, and I feel so fucking helpless, Z.” He felt tears rolling down his cheeks and he angrily wiped them off. He wanted to be strong. He _had_ to be strong right now.

“Hey, hey, look at me.” Zayn’s brown eyes somehow made him feel a little calmer. “You’re not helpless, okay? You just saved his life. And I’m sure you’ll find out what happened soon enough. And whatever it is, you’ll work it out. _We’ll_ work it out. Just let us know what you need. We’ll do anything to help, won’t we, Liam?”

“Of course”, Liam replied. “And as far as his physical health goes, he’s going to be alright, okay? He’s just exhausted and that’s why he seems a little out of it, but I’m sure he’ll get better once he sleeps it off.”

“Okay. Thanks guys. So much. I love you.”

He gave Zayn a quick hug again, then turned towards Liam. They’d never really been affectionate before, and there were a few awkward seconds where neither of them made a move, then Liam put his arms around him and hugged him tight, and Louis wondered why he had ever criticized the guy.

When he got back to the living room, Harry was gone.

“Where is he?” he asked his mum, slightly panicked.

“He’s just taking a shower and getting changed, hon”, Jay replied softly.

“Oh. Duh.”

His mum looked at him with a concerned expression.

“Are you okay, my love?” 

“I think I’ll be better once I know what happened.”

She nodded.

“Hopefully we’ll find out soon enough. But don’t push him to talk either, okay?”

“Yeah, of course. I’ll give him time.”

“Good. Well, I have to take your sisters to school and go to work, but I’ll drop by for lunch and see how things are. Are you gonna be alright?”

“Yes, don’t worry.”

She gave him a hug, but they were interrupted by Louis’ sisters storming into the room.

The oldest, Lottie, looked at them quizzically and asked:

“What’s happening?”

“I’ll tell you girls on the way. Now let’s go.” Jay turned towards Louis and added: “I made the bed in the spare room for Harry. I think he should really get some sleep before you guys talk, okay?”

Louis nodded as the girls were saying: “Wait, Harry?”, but Jay led them to the door and soon they were gone.

Harry came back shortly after, wearing one of Louis’ old shirts and his favourite pair of joggers, which messed with Louis’ head a little. He still found it hard to believe that Harry was actually here, right in front of him, and now on top of that he was wearing his clothes. But he had to keep it together.

"Hey. Are you feeling a little warmer now?"

"Yeah. What about you though?"

And Louis looked down at himself, noticing that he was still drenched, but somehow he didn't feel cold. He was still running on adrenaline, he realized.

“I'm... fine, weirdly. But I guess you really need to sleep now, right?”

Harry nodded.

“Come on, I’ll take you to the guest room. And then I'll get changed.”

So Harry followed him upstairs and they entered the room, Harry immediately sitting on the bed, looking more exhausted than ever. Louis hovered around for a few seconds, not really wanting to leave him.

“Wait, I’ll bring you a glass of water. Are you hungry too?”

“No, I'm fine, I think.”

Louis made a quick trip to his room to put on dry clothes, then came back to the guest room with a glass and put it on the bedside table. Harry had gotten under the covers. Louis went to the window and closed the curtains, plunging the room into a semi-darkness, the winter morning light still piercing through the thin fabric.

“Is that okay?” he asked.

“Yeah, that’s perfect. Thanks Lou.”

“Okay, I’ll let you sleep now.”

And he was making for the door when he heard Harry say timidly:

“Actually… Would you mind staying with me? Until I fall asleep, at least.”

“Of course not, love.”

He brought an armchair next to the bed and sat down, looking at Harry, who was looking back at him in silence until he eventually said:

“I’m sorry. This isn’t really how I imagined our first meeting would go. And I know you must be super confused right now.”

Louis smiled in what he hoped was a reassuring way.

“It’s alright. I’m just glad you’re here and you’re safe now. And don’t worry about that. Just get some sleep, and we’ll figure out the rest once you feel better, yeah?”

Harry nodded.

“Okay. Thanks. And thank you for saving me back there.”

And before Louis could answer anything, he closed his eyes, and soon he was fast asleep.

Louis watched him for a while. The house was so peaceful right now. He couldn’t even remember the last time he’d found himself alone at home without all the ruckus that his sisters were usually causing. As he was getting hypnotized by the way Harry’s chest was slowly rising and falling, he felt his eyelids grow heavier by the minute, and after trying to resist it for a while, he eventually gave in and closed his eyes as well. 

🖂🖂🖂

He woke up several hours later, not really knowing what caused it. But when he opened his eyes, he saw that Harry was awake too, looking at him curiously.

“Shit. I guess I fell asleep too. How do you feel?”

“Still a bit weird, to be honest. But better. And I'm not cold anymore.”

“That's good.”

He checked his watch, which had fortunately survived its little adventure in the sea.

“It's only eleven. My mum should be back for lunch in an hour or so, but do you want to eat something already?”

“I'm not really hungry, to be honest.”

And that was pretty bad. He probably hadn't eaten anything for a long time now. But Louis didn't want to push him, so he offered:

“How about some tea then?”

Harry considered for a while and eventually replied:

“Yeah. Tea sounds good.”

“Okay. I'll go make some and bring it here if you want?”

“That would be great. Thanks Lou”, Harry smiled, and for the first time Louis noticed he had adorable dimples, which made him smile in return.

He came back ten minutes later. Harry had sat up in bed and was looking out the window, apparently deep in thought. Louis cleared his throat.

“Er, I brought biscuits too, if you want. My mum made them yesterday, actually. It's a family recipe.”

“Oh, I guess I’ll have to try one then.”

And that was exactly what Louis had hoped for, knowing that Harry would too polite to refuse.

They both drank their tea and ate quietly for a few minutes, but their silence felt heavy. Louis wondered if now was the right time to breach the subject of how and why Harry had found himself almost drowning near the Stonell coast on a cold November morning. But thankfully, Harry seemed to sense Louis’ hesitation to start asking questions, and he said:

“So… I guess you want to know what happened, right?”

Louis carefully put his cup back in its saucer and replied:

“Only if you want to tell me. If you’re not ready, I can wait.”

“No, I want to tell you, it’s just… I know it’s gonna upset you.”

“Hey, don’t worry about that, okay? This isn’t about me.”

Harry nodded.

“Yeah, okay. But also… I’m not sure where and how to start.”

“Start anywhere you like, love. We have all the time in the world.”

So Harry put his teacup on the bedside table, crossed his hands on his lap, and looking down, he started:

“Okay. Well I guess it all began yesterday, actually, when I received your latest letter. You know normally, Niall would give it to me before school starts and I would read it quickly before giving it back to him. But this one… I don’t know, it felt different. I wanted to keep it and take the time to re-read it on my own. I couldn’t part with it somehow. So I decided to bring it home just for the night, so I could memorize it and give it back to Niall the next day. I thought, what are the chances that he would find it, you know? It would be so unlucky.” 

Harry laughed bitterly.

“But I guess it wasn’t a lucky day. Or maybe he had some information, I don’t know. I really have no idea how, but I think he knew I’d gotten a letter that morning. When I came back home last night, he was waiting for me, and he made me empty my pockets, then my backpack, and he wouldn’t stop searching until he found your letter. Which he did. I’d put it between two pages in one of my textbooks, but he found it. And he read it, of course. He didn’t understand much, because I think he’d never suspected about us. So he started asking me who you were, and why we were writing each other, and how, and since when we’ve been doing it. But I wouldn’t say anything. And he kept pressuring me, getting more and more angry until he…”

He paused there, but Louis knew what he was referring to. He felt anger rush through his blood, but reminded himself of what he’d just told Harry. This wasn’t about him, or how he was feeling. So he slowly reached for Harry, and the boy flinched at first, but relaxed as soon as Louis took his hands in his and applied gentle pressure to them.

“He’d never been physical before, actually. I guess I should have expected it, but it still took me by surprise”, he sighed, his voice trembling slightly. “Anyway my mum came home right then, and when she saw what happened she ran to the kitchen and came back with a knife. And you know what? That bastard was laughing. Fucking laughing at her and at me. Like we weren’t shit. Like he was so powerful nothing could ever hurt him.”

So far he’d been telling his story very calmly, almost in a detached way, but he was getting agitated now. He looked at Louis with tears in his eyes.

“But mum wouldn’t stand for it. I’d never seen her that cold and angry before. She put the knife against his throat, and at first he was still laughing and he tried to push her hand away, but I don’t know, it’s like she had supernatural strength all of a sudden, and she didn’t budge an inch. And I think he started getting scared then. He stopped laughing at last. And that’s when she told me to go. Actually, we’d discussed it months ago. She’d told me that there may be a time when I would need to escape, and that the safest thing to do would be to come here to Stonell. She’d made me come up with a full escape plan, just in case. But I never thought I’d really need to use it, you know? So when she told me to leave yesterday… I didn’t want to. I didn’t want to leave her with him, not knowing what he would do to her. But I’d promised her I would go if she ever asked me to. So I did. And I left her with him.”

He was full-on crying now, his lips shaking and his hands gripping Louis’ stronger than ever. 

“I’m so sorry love, come here”, Louis said as he sat on the bed opposite Harry and hugged him. Harry immediately put his arms around him as well and buried his head in the crook of his neck while Louis was caressing his hair, whispering soothing words to him. They stayed like that for what seemed like hours, until Harry sniffed and pulled away, looking at Louis a little shyly. 

“Thank you. I needed that, I think.”

“Of course, H. Do you want to… tell me the rest now? Or take a break?”

Looking determined, Harry replied:

“No. Let’s get it over with.”

And now that they were sitting much closer, Louis felt like it was only the two of them in the world somehow, on this bed that was like their own little island in the middle of a much bigger one. It seemed like Harry was feeling the same way, because he whispered the rest of his story, as if not to disturb their peaceful shelter.

“So I ran to the beach. The night had already fallen. When I got there, the plan was to find a boat, but at this time of year there wasn’t any. Plus I would have felt bad about stealing one anyway. So plan B was to make one appear with magic. I didn’t have anything to draw or paint though, so I just quickly drew one on the sand, praying that it would work. And it did. Thank god I’ve been practising magic these past few months. And thank god I read about how to get to Stonell as well. Anyway I set off, but it was just a small rowing boat, you know? It was so slow, and I was afraid they would come after me, but fortunately they didn’t. I got exhausted quickly though, from rowing and holding out my magic for so long. Sometimes I would feel the floor of the boat grow less solid, like it was disappearing. But I held on as long as I could. After a while, I was in some kind of trance, I think. I heard my mother’s voice telling me not to give up. And another voice too. I think it was yours. I don’t know how that’s possible, but I heard you telling me to focus, and at some point I was dozing off and you told me to wake up, so I did. And that’s when I finally saw the Stonell coast. I still held on as long as I could, but at some point the shore looked so close that I thought maybe I could swim the rest of the way. So I dropped everything, but I hadn’t expected the water to be so cold, somehow. I tried swimming, but my limbs wouldn’t obey me, and I kept swallowing water, and coughing, and being pulled under the surface. And I was so fucking scared. But I remembered what you’d told me about Zayn, so I put the last of my energy into trying to call for him. And then I just did my best to keep afloat, but I think I was losing consciousness when you found me. It was surreal. I heard your voice, and I thought I was still dreaming it at first. But that was you. That was actually you.”

Harry stopped talking, a little out of breath. Louis whispered back:

“It was. And it was actually you too.”

Harry nodded and was about to add something when they heard the front door close and Jay’s voice telling them she was back, sounding very far away, like it came from another planet.

They both flinched, as if they’d been woken up from the same dream.

Louis told Harry:

“I’ll go join her, but you don’t have to come if you don’t want to. Maybe you still need to rest?”

Harry shook his head.

“No, I’ll come. And I’m getting hungry anyway.”

Louis smiled.

“That’s good. But also... I think my mum is gonna want to know what happened. Do you want to tell her yourself? Or I can do it too if you prefer? And we don’t have to tell her everything either, it’s up to you, really. But I think she’ll know what to do. About your mum and stuff.”

Harry frowned and thought for a few seconds until he answered:

“I don’t think I have it in me to tell this again. Not right now, at least. But I do want her to know, so yeah, that’d be great if you could tell her. And you don’t have to hide anything, it’s fine.”

“Okay. I can tell her right now quickly, and then you can join us in like ten minutes for lunch? Does that sound good?”

“Yeah. Thank you so much. For everything.”

Louis didn’t really know what to answer. He would have gone to the moon and back for Harry, so saving him from drowning and taking some of his pain away by telling Jay his story for him seemed like nothing in comparison. But now probably wasn’t the time for this kind of grand declaration, so he just said:

“It’s okay, love. I just want to do whatever I can to help.” 

He squeezed Harry’s hand one last time as he got up from the bed, tearing himself away from their little shelter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay I hadn't originally planned to end this chapter here but if I'd gone on it would have been twice as long and you would have needed to wait for like another week.  
> Anyway, hope you liked it, and thank you so much for everyone's support so far ✨💞  
> Oh and finally I think there's gonna be 2 or 3 more chapters + an epilogue. See you next time xx.


	8. VI

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some actual fluff, some Ari content, and some planning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, welcome back!  
> As always, thank you for everyone's support 💕  
> Just want to give a quick shoutout to [Cami](https://thechampagnelovers.tumblr.com/) for suggesting the name Ari(el) for the Tomlinsons' seagull friend. And thank you to everyone who's been voting for it on Tumblr as well 😊 Also thank you to everyone who pointed out that if he was a flower, Harry would definitely be [some kind of rose](https://quelsentiment.tumblr.com/post/625898806539583488/matchingbees-harrys-birthday-countdown-1) 🌺  
> Anyway, here it is!

When Harry joined them in the kitchen just as Louis was done catching up his mother on what had happened, Jay wordlessly got up and took him in her arms. He looked a little taken aback at first, but quickly reciprocated the hug, closing his eyes. 

“I’m so sorry, honey. How are you feeling now?”

“Better than earlier. But worried. And starving.”

She nodded.

“Alright. We can deal with the starving part right now. And then we’ll talk about what to do, okay? I promise you we’ll figure something out.”

Harry muttered “Thank you”, looking a little choked as he settled next to Louis at the table.

They ate in silence, for the most part. It would have felt weird to talk about anything else. Louis was still getting used to the idea that the person he’d been writing to for all these years was sitting right next to him and eating his mother’s pasta. He thought back on some of the things he’d said in his letters. Some personal, vulnerable, intimate things. Things he’d never said to anyone else. And he suddenly felt self-conscious about them. But then he remembered Harry had been doing the same as well. Both in his letters and right then in real life. And Louis didn’t care. It just made him want to know even more, made him _care_ about Harry even more. There was nothing ridiculous or weird about being open, he decided. He was just glad that Harry had trusted him enough to share these things with him. So he decided it didn’t matter if he’d somehow overshared too. Harry definitely wasn’t the type to judge either.

Still lost in thought, he suddenly noticed they had all finished their plate. Harry cleared his throat and said:

“Thank you, Ma’am, that was delicious.”

“Please, darling, call me Jay, okay? And you’re very welcome. Now, do you want to talk about what to do?”

Harry nodded.

“You must be very worried about your mum. I guess the best thing to do would be to write Maura and ask her if she knows anything. And maybe pass along the message that you’re here and safe.”

“Yes, I’d like that”, Harry said.

“Isn’t that a bit risky?” Louis asked.

They both turned towards him, and Harry was frowning slightly. Louis felt a little awkward, as he hated to disagree with them, but he carried on:

“It’s just… We don’t know how your dad… I mean how _he_ found out about you getting a letter in the first place. What if he knows about Maura, Niall and how we’ve been using Ariel to carry messages back and forth? If we send a letter they might intercept it and then discover where you are. And then who knows what would happen. Plus that would put Maura and Niall at risk too.”

Harry seemed lost in thought for a moment then said:

“It’s true. Maybe he knows something. But… What else can we do? I really need to find out if my mum is safe.”

“I know… I’m just worried. But it’s your call, of course.”

Jay said:

“I agree with you, Lou, it _is_ risky. But that’s the only option we have right now. And I can keep my letter as vague as possible. I won’t mention any names or places, but I’ll make sure Maura gets the message. Our letters have always been a bit cryptic anyway. Harry, how does that sound?”

Harry bit his lip and answered:

“As you say, I think it’s our only option. I don’t like it either, but there’s no other way.”

“Okay. I’ll write it right now, and then I’ll go back to work. Hopefully we’ll get an answer tomorrow.”

She went to write the letter in the living room while Louis and Harry cleared the table and did the dishes in silence. Weirdly, Louis felt like they’d been doing that for years. He must have been getting accustomed to Harry’s presence already.

When they were done, they joined Louis’ mum in the living room. She was just folding the letter, and putting it in an envelope.

“Did you want to read it, love?”

Harry shook his head.

“I’m fine.”

“Okay.”

She opened the window and whistled, and soon a seagull came flying, landing on the windowsill. As she was tying the envelope to Ariel’s leg, she whispered to her:

“Hi Ari. Sorry to disturb you, I know you weren’t supposed to carry another letter so soon. But it’s an emergency. And you’ll have to be extra careful this time, I’m afraid. People might be watching Maura’s house for anything suspicious, so maybe wait until it’s dark to deliver the letter. And wait for Maura’s answer as well, I’m sure she’ll be quick and write a short one.”

Louis noticed that Harry was watching the interaction with curiosity. He suddenly realized it was probably the first time Harry was witnessing someone else than himself use their magic. Louis had grown up watching his mum communicate with Ari like she was just another member of their family, but of course for an outsider it must have seemed very strange. He felt sad about Harry getting to see these types of things so late in life, but he actually looked more amazed than frustrated.

Jay had finished talking to Ari. Louis gave her a gentle stroke and said:

“Thanks Ari. Be safe”, and the bird took off, quickly disappearing on the horizon.

🖂🖂🖂

After Jay left to go back to work, Louis and Harry looked at each other, standing in the hall a little awkwardly. They had agreed with Louis’ mum that it was safer for Harry to stay inside for now. Even though Stonell’s inhabitants could be trusted, it was better not to draw unwanted attention to Harry until things were settled. But now Louis was wondering how they would spend time until they got an answer from Maura. He knew Harry was probably worrying to death right now, and he was desperate to distract him. He cleared his throat:

“Er… Do you need to get more sleep?”

“I mean, I’m still tired… But it’s probably best if I don’t take a nap, otherwise I won’t be able to fall asleep tonight.”

“Yeah, good call. Wanna see my room then?”

Harry lit up.

“Yeah, I’d love to! I’ve always wondered how it looked. Like, if you were the type to be messy or tidy.”

Louis chuckled as he guided Harry up the stairs.

“Well, I think it’s safe to say I’m more on the messy side.”

And as he opened the door he realized with horror that maybe he should have thought twice before bringing Harry to his room. The thing was, the entire wall above his bed was covered with the artwork Harry had sent him over the years. Plus there was a box on his bedside table that contained all his letters. And of course, the box was open and one of the letters was lying on his bed. It basically looked like Louis had a whole shrine dedicated to Harry in his room. Fuck. How creepy was that?

Louis was blushing and about to explain — although, how could he even explain _that_ without launching into a goddamn declaration of love? But Harry didn’t seem that surprised or creeped-out. He actually was looking at the wall with tears in his eyes.

As Louis was closing the door behind him, he asked gently:

“Everything okay?”

Harry turned his eyes to him.

“It’s just… I remember doing every one of these”, he said, pointing at his paintings on the wall. “But I never thought you’d keep all of them, and that I’d get to see them again one day.” 

Before Louis could answer, he got closer to the bed and noticed the box.

“Are those my letters?”

Louis swallowed.

“Yeah.”

Was Harry going to call him out for being a creep?

But instead Harry threw himself in his arms. Louis was taken by surprise, to say the least, but he quickly put himself together and hugged Harry back, tightening his grip as he felt the boy’s tears fall against his neck.

When they pulled off a few seconds later, Harry nervously ruffled his hair and wiped his tears away with his sleeve.

“Sorry about that.”

Louis led him to the bed and they sat side by side. As he offered him a tissue, he tried his best to reassure him.

“It’s okay, H. I can’t even imagine how upset and worried you must feel right now. To be honest, I’d have had a thousand breakdowns already if I were you.”

“Thanks. It’s just… Seeing my letters reminded me I told Niall that if something ever happened to me or if I escaped, he’d need to destroy all of yours, just to be safe. He’s probably done it by now.”

“Oh.”

“I hate that. I wish I would have brought them with me or something. I can’t believe they’re lost. They’re like… one of the only things that kept me going all these years, you know? And now they’re gone. Your first ever letter where you were kind of rude and I was like ‘Who even is this guy?’ And then the second one where you apologized and I thought we could actually make it work. And your last letter too... I didn’t even have time to read it properly. And now this fucker has it, and it disgusts me to think he’s read the beautiful words you’ve written.”

And he’d gone from sad to angry in a matter of seconds. Louis would have never thought he’d see Harry like that. Well, to be fair, he’d never imagined he’d ever see Harry at all. Wished for it, sure. But all these years he’d somehow managed to keep these kinds of ideas at bay, knowing how painful it would be to let himself dream of meeting Harry. Which was why he felt wildly unprepared and completely overwhelmed right now. He’d gotten to know Harry through his letters and it was fair to say he knew him pretty well already. But now he realized there were so many layers to him he knew next to nothing about, and he’d need to make adjustments in his brain between Letter-Harry and Actual-Harry.

In any case, he really needed to say something right now.

“Hey, look at me.” Harry’s green eyes met his. It was definitely one of the things he’d need to get used to. How beautiful they were. “I know it’s frustrating but… they’re just letters, okay? Just words on paper. It doesn’t matter now, because we’re here. The two of us. We don’t need them anymore, because we can actually talk, and see each other, and hear each other’s voice and laugh and cry together. And isn’t that amazing? I know the circumstances are fucked-up, and maybe it’s a selfish thing to say… but I’m so happy you’re here. I’m so happy I finally got to meet you, H.”

Harry was looking at him with wide eyes and looked a little flushed. Louis was pretty sure he was furiously blushing as well. He hadn’t really meant to go overboard with his feelings right now but well… Harry had always had this effect on him, and apparently having him in front of him for real wasn’t deterring Louis at all. He waited apprehensively for Harry to say something back but he didn’t immediately acknowledge what Louis had just said and asked instead:

“Would you have a piece of paper and a pencil?”

“Er, yeah, hang on.”

He grabbed one of his notebooks and a pencil from his desk and brought them to Harry, sitting back on the bed beside him and wondering what this was about.

Harry whispered “Thanks”, opened the notebook at a blank page and started making a quick sketch. Louis watched Harry’s face while he was drawing, and it was truly magical. Until then, Harry had had an almost constant worried look, but right now he seemed completely at peace, frowning just slightly as he focused on what he was doing. Louis looked down at the page and just as he realized what he was drawing, it suddenly started to appear on Harry's lap, just above the notebook. In just a few seconds, there was a sunflower right before their eyes, in a vibrant yellow shade that looked exactly like the real thing, if not brighter.

“Wow”, Louis whispered. He’d seen magic before, of course, magic of all types. But this was different. Harry had just… created something out of thin air, and even though he _knew_ that was what his gift was, witnessing it in real life amazed him. “That’s such beautiful magic, Harry.”

Harry blushed a little and handed the sunflower to him:

“Thanks. It’s for you.”

Louis wordlessly took the flower and touched the delicate petals with his fingertips, still in wonder of Harry’s gift. 

“Can I ask why a sunflower?”

“Because you’ve always reminded me of them, somehow. They’re so bold, and bright, and they lit up a room, you know? But underneath it all they’re also very soft”, he said, as he touched the petals as well, his fingers just a few inches away from Louis’. 

Louis was about to say something, probably to deflect the compliment because that’s what he usually did in those types of situations. Not that anybody had ever compared him to a sunflower before. 

But before he could think of something to say, Harry continued:

“And now that I’ve finally met you in person… I feel that way even more so. The way the corner of your eyes crinkle a little when you smile. The way your voice goes from loud to soft in a matter of seconds. The way your eyes look at everyone in such a caring manner. The way you speak from your heart like it’s no big deal. Everything about you is just so… bright. Shining. I don’t know how to describe it. And I’m so happy to finally be here with you too. More than I can express. So, for lack of anything better, here’s a sunflower. It will fade away in a while, but I’ll still feel the same. I’ll probably always feel the same, actually.”

And now it was Louis’ turn to tear up. He wondered what he had ever done to deserve to have Harry in his life.

“I… I don’t know what to say.” He teared his eyes away from the flower and looked up at Harry, who was watching him carefully. “Except thank you, I guess. I’ve never been good at taking compliments.” And he was whispering now, not really knowing why.

Harry whispered back:

“It’s not a compliment. It’s just the truth.”

Louis couldn’t help but reach out and touch Harry’s curls, which were somehow even softer than the sunflower. Harry looked at him quizzically but didn’t move. Louis, suddenly realizing what he was doing, froze and dropped his hand.

“Sorry”, he mumbled, looking down. “Shouldn’t have done that. That was weird.”

“No it wasn’t”, Harry protested gently as he took Louis’ hand in his and intertwined their fingers together. Louis looked up at him, searching his face for some kind of sign. But Harry was staring at their joined hands and his face looked peaceful. So Louis looked back at their hands, and the sight suddenly made him a little dizzy. 

“I kind of want to kiss you”, he blurted out, saying it before the _idea_ of it had even reached his brain.

They were both taken by surprise, and stared at each other, Louis no doubt looking mortified while Harry’s face was unreadable. He was about to open his mouth to make some lame excuse when Harry overtook him and said:

“Don’t apologize, please.”

Louis swallowed and nodded. Their palms were still locked and he wondered if he should take his hand away.

“Do you really mean it?” Harry asked.

So Louis decided to be completely open. After all, Harry had just said he always spoke from his heart.

“I think so, yeah. I know technically we’ve only just met but… I have to admit I think I’ve felt that way about you for a while now. I shouldn’t have said that though. I don’t want you to be overwhelmed right now. So you don't have to answer anything. We can just pretend it never happened, yeah?”

Harry frowned.

“I don’t want to do that.”

“Oh.”

“And I thought I had made myself clear enough with the flower and that whole speech, but apparently not.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean I have feelings for you too. Obviously.”

Louis couldn’t tell if his heart had stopped or started beating intensely. Both, somehow. And for once in his life, he was completely unable to say anything. But thankfully, Harry was not as dumbstruck as he was. In fact, he was suddenly radiating confidence, and he continued:

“So, if you’re okay with it, I’m going to kiss you now.”

Louis nodded, and before he knew it Harry was leaning towards him and pressing his lips against his. Louis felt like each one of his senses was amplified. He was overwhelmed by how soft everything was: Harry’s lips, and his hand in his, the light weight of the sunflower that was resting on his lap, the muffled sound of the sea coming through the thin glass of his window, and the early afternoon light resting beyond his closed eyes. Their kiss only lasted for a few seconds but it somehow felt like a lifetime, like a whole universe, like they were both here and somewhere else entirely.

When they pulled off, it was like coming back to Earth, but Louis suddenly realized how cold it was in the room. They both turned their heads and saw that the window was wide open, and Louis’ school notes were flying all over his desk.

“How did it happen? Was there a draught or something?” Harry asked as Louis was getting up and closing the window.

“No, I think it was me. I mean… my magic. I read about it somewhere, how some emotional or intense events can trigger it without you meaning to.”

And Louis didn’t know if he was supposed to feel awkward for just admitting that their kiss had been such an event for him, but Harry didn’t seem to mind, looking genuinely curious instead.

“Oh. Why the window though?”

“I don’t know, I guess… It felt like we were doing something that went beyond just these four walls, and I needed to bring in the outside world somehow.”

He turned towards Harry, who was still sitting on the bed and had picked up the sunflower, but there was now another flower next to it as well.

“What is it?”, Louis asked, getting back to the bed.

“It looks like a rose, but I’m not sure it actually is one”, answered Harry, slightly frowning. “I guess my magic was triggered as well.”

Louis looked at the flower. It had a round button and delicate baby pink petals. It definitely resembled a rose, but it had no thorns.

“I’m not sure what it is either… But I guess if I’m a sunflower then you must be whatever this is. It’s very pretty and… sweet. So I guess it makes sense.”

Harry blushed and muttered:

“Shut up. I can’t take compliments either.”

“Not my problem, love”, Louis grinned as he leaned and kissed Harry on the cheek.

🖂🖂🖂

They spent the rest of the afternoon showing each other their magic, both in wonder of what the other could do. As the night was falling, they settled in the living room and Louis got his guitar out to play some of the tunes he’d been practising for the past few months while Harry was humming to them softly.

They got interrupted by Louis’ sisters coming back from school. They stormed into the living room in their usual cheerful way, but stopped dead in their tracks when they spotted Harry, watching him with curiosity.

“Er, girls, this is Harry. And Harry, this is Lottie, Fiz, Daisy and Phoebe.”

Harry had a shy smile and said:

“Hi girls, it’s nice to finally meet you. Louis told me a lot about you.”

“Not as much as he told us about _you_ , I’m sure”, Fiz snickered.

Louis blushed and mumbled: “Shut up.” He stole a glance at Harry, who was actually blushing too.

Thankfully Lottie saved them from further embarrassment and told her sisters to go have a snack in the kitchen. As they were leaving the room, she turned to Harry and asked:

“Are you okay? Mum told us your journey here was… eventful.”

Harry nodded.

“Yeah, I’m better now, thanks to Louis.”

Lottie smiled. 

“That’s good. I’ll leave you guys to it. But I’m very happy to finally meet you too, Harry. Louis did speak about you _a lot_ over the past few years”, she said as she was leaving the room.

_Those little shits_ , Louis thought as he looked nervously at Harry, who was now wearing a large grin.

“So I take it you’ve been talking about me a lot, then?”

“You know I have”, Louis smiled, rolling his eyes.

“It’s okay. I’ve been doing the same too. So much that Niall got sick of it and we had to implement Louis-Free days.”

Louis chuckled.

“Really?”

“Yep.” 

“Louis-free days, huh? Not sure you’ll get one of those anytime soon”, he joked, getting closer to Harry on the couch.

“I’m quite okay with that, to be honest”, Harry replied, and they were about to kiss when they heard the front door close. Jay was back from work.

They spent the rest of the evening hanging out with everyone in the kitchen. Harry was a little quiet, obviously still preoccupied, but he immediately got along well with Louis’ sisters, enamouring the twins by making butterflies and flowers appear in front of their dazzled eyes. Louis knew he himself was looking at Harry with a very obvious fond look that fooled absolutely no one, especially not his mum and older sisters, but he didn’t care right now.

It felt like the calm before the storm. They were expecting to get an answer from Maura the next day, and whatever it was, they would probably need to make difficult decisions.

🖂🖂🖂

When he woke up after the first dreamless night he’d had in a while, Louis immediately went knocking on Harry’s door, but he heard his voice coming from downstairs.

Harry was in the kitchen with Jay and Fiz, apparently cooking something. They all turned when Louis entered the room.

“Hey Lou”, Harry smiled.

“Hi everyone.”

“Harry’s making pancakes!” Fiz said, looking delighted.

“Oh, that’s awesome!” he replied as he got closer and pressed a kiss to Harry’s temple. Harry smiled, looking a little flustered, but carried on mixing the ingredients. Jay and Fiz were watching them with a knowing look but Louis didn’t mind. They’d always known about his feelings for Harry anyway, having been in the front row to witness his many breakdowns over him.

He sat at the table next to his sister, asking:

“How did everyone sleep?”

“Good! What do you guys want to do today?” Jay asked.

“Since it’s the weekend, I thought we could ask Zayn and Liam around, so Harry can properly meet them. What do you think, H?”

“I’d like that”, Harry smiled. “I think I definitely need a distraction until we get an answer."

“Yeah”, Louis nodded. “How about I go call Zayn now, and tell him they can drop by whenever?”

“Sounds good”, Jay said.

“Oh, can you ask if the girls and I can go hang out with Zayn’s sisters in exchange?” Fiz added as Louis was leaving the room. “It’s been a while since we’ve seen them.”

Soon, Zayn, Liam and the rest of Louis’ sisters joined them in the kitchen, and they were all chattering excitedly and eating Harry’s delicious pancakes. At first, Louis was a little worried that Harry would feel overwhelmed by having so many new faces around, but he seemed to delight in the company.

After the girls had left and Jay went to get groceries, Louis was finally able to properly introduce Harry to Zayn and Liam.

“I’m so happy to be able to meet you guys”, Harry said as he was hugging them. “Louis has been talking about you from his very first letter, and it always felt like I was reading about fictional characters somehow. So I have to admit it’s a little weird to see you in the flesh now.”

“Same”, Zayn smiled. “I’m really happy to meet you too, and that you’re safe. We were so scared for you yesterday. How do you feel now?”

“Much better thanks. And by the way, I really want to thank the both of you for what you did for me. You went out of your way to help a complete stranger and… I’m really grateful.”

“Hey, you’re not a stranger, okay?” Zayn said earnestly, taking Harry by the shoulders and looking him in the eye.

“Yeah. Are you aware of how much Louis has been speaking about you all these years?” Liam added. “At this point it feels like we’ve known you forever.”

Harry burst out laughing, while Louis was starting to wonder if all of this was part of an elaborate plan from his friends and sisters to expose his feelings. 

“Of course you had to say that, Li.”

“What?” Liam asked, perplexed.

“Nevermind. Who wants to play footie in the garden?”

🖂🖂🖂

They were about to come back inside after playing for about an hour — Harry was quite good, in Louis’ opinion, but at this point he was probably biased — when they spotted a familiar shape fly their way and land on the grass in front of them.

It was Ari, and she has an envelope tied to one of her legs.

They all froze, and Harry turned pale.

“Wait, let me get mum”, Louis said.

He came back to the garden with Jay a few seconds later. 

She knelt beside Ari and talked to her softly.

“Hey. I’m glad to see you’re safe. Thank you for coming back so quickly, Ari. I’m just gonna get the letter, and then look! I brought something for you.” It was a box of sardines and a bowl of water.

Jay delicately untied the letter and said:

“Okay, let’s leave her to it and go back inside.”

They all sat at the kitchen table, and Jay opened the envelope. Louis could feel Harry grow tense beside him, so he grabbed his hand and squeezed it, and Harry squeezed his hand back, not letting it go. Jay cleared her throat and started reading:

_ My dearest Jay, _

_ Pardon my unusual straightforwardness. I’m going to try my best to keep this short. I think Ari should get out of this place as quickly as possible.  _

_ Thank you for letting us know that H is safe. We were extremely worried about him, as he didn’t come to school today, and we saw Anne being taken away by Jeff and a few other people from the brigade last night. I can only assume that they arrested her and are detaining her at the police station. And I’m afraid of what’s going to happen to her now. God knows we haven’t had a fair trial on this island for years now. I’m sorry to be the bearer of such bad news, really. But I think we should do something to get her out of there. I don’t know how, though. Niall and I would be happy to help, of course, but I think we could use some of your talents as well.  _

_ So here’s what I’m suggesting: Do you remember that secret hiding place we used to go to as children? Let’s meet there tomorrow at dawn. Unfortunately, I don’t think we have time to plan out everything, but I know some of your abilities would help greatly. _

_ I hope you get this safely, and I hope you agree with this “plan”. I’m sure I’ll see you soon, either you, Jay, or your boy. _

_ Maura (and Niall) _

Jay finished reading and they were all silent for a few seconds.

“Oh my god”, Liam whispered eventually.

Harry was gripping Louis’ hand tightly by now. Louis stole a glance at him. He was staring into space and looking even paler than a few minutes before.

“What should we do?” Zayn asked.

“We’re leaving for Eroda. Tonight. Liam, do you think we could use your parents’ sailing boat?” Louis asked.

“Yeah, for sure.”

“Mum, what’s this hiding place Maura’s talking about?”

“Wait, slow down a little, Lou”, his mum said. “Maybe we should think things through first.”

“But there’s no time! Maura said we should act fast before…”

He looked over at Harry, not wanting to continue and worry him further. Harry was now wearing a determined look. 

“Yes. I’m sorry, Jay. I know it’s dangerous, but I think we need to do something.”

“Of course, love”, she answered. “But whatever we decide, I don’t think you should go back to Eroda. You’re safe here now. They would never dare to come and try to get you on Stonell, because it would potentially start a war between our two islands.”

“That’s true”, Louis said. “Are you okay with staying here, love?”

“I’d rather be helping, of course. But I guess you’re right. It’s too much of a risk for me to go back.”

“Okay, so it’s gonna be me, and?”

“Us two, of course”, Zayn said.

“Are you sure? It could be dangerous.”

“We told you. We’ll do anything to help. And with our three gifts combined, I think we make quite a strong team.”

“Thank you so much, guys”, Harry said, a little choked.

Louis turned towards his mum:

“So it’s settled then. It’s gonna be us three trying to bring Anne back. And potentially Maura and Niall as well.”

“I don’t like any of this. And I wish we had more time to prepare. But I guess we don’t have a choice”, Jay whispered.

So they spent the next few hours trying to come up with some kind of plan. Thankfully both Jay and Harry had been to the Erodan police station before and could describe its layout to the three boys so they would know what to expect when they’d make it there. 

When the night started to fall, they all met at the beach, where Liam was waiting for them on his parents’ boat. As Zayn was joining him, Jay turned towards his son and hugged him.

“Please be careful. All three of you.”

“We will. But if we’re not back within 36 hours, maybe you should send Ari to find out what happened.”

She nodded and pressed a kiss on his forehead before letting him go and walking away quickly with tears in her eyes.

Louis turned to Harry, not knowing what to say and suddenly feeling crushed under the weight of what was happening.

“I hate that we have to be apart so soon”, he started, stumbling over the words as he was trying not to cry.

“Me too. And I hate that you’re potentially risking your life for me and my mum.”

“H, look at me.” Harry’s eyes were as green as the sea. “We’re not doing that just for you, or for your mum. We’re doing that for all the magic people and their friends, for everyone who deserves to be free, whether they have the gift or not. If we manage to rescue your mum, maybe it won’t make that much of a difference in the grand scheme of things, but maybe it can be the start of something. I truly hope so, at least.”

And he took Harry in his arms, which made him feel so safe that it seemed to him that he would be able to carry this feeling through their journey to Eroda, making him strong and protected.

“Thank you”, Harry said softly to his ear. “Please be safe, and come back as soon as possible. I miss you already.”

“I miss you too, love.”

They kissed, and Louis wished he could stay there forever, because Harry’s lips were so familiar already, and reminded him of waking up on rainy Saturday mornings with no plans except to stay home all day and read a book or two. But Zayn interrupted them, calling Louis from the boat:

“Sorry, but we have to go Lou!”

So they split up, but before turning around, Louis had one last thing to say:

“By the way… I told Lottie to give you something once you get back home.”

“What is it?” Harry frowned.

“My diary. And the letters I wrote you when we weren't able to speak last year. I know it doesn’t replace those you lost but… if you want them, you can have them. They’re pretty raw though, to say the least.”

Harry nodded, looking like he was tearing up as well.

“Thank you.” He squeezed his hand, blushing a little. “I love you.”

And before Louis could reply, he cut him off and said:

“Now go. I’ll see you soon.”

So Louis regretfully let go of Harry’s hand, and got on the boat. Liam raised the anchor and they quickly moved away from the shore. He and Harry kept looking at each other as long as possible, their green and blue eyes linked in the sunset. But soon, Harry became a tiny dark silhouette on the beach, so Louis teared his gaze away from him and turned towards the horizon and whatever was awaiting them on Eroda.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really hoping to be able to fit the rest of this story into one last chapter + an epilogue, but I also tend to underestimate these things so I guess we'll see.  
> Anyway, hope you enjoyed! See you next time ✨


	9. VII

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some action, some resolution, and some Niall content — finally.
> 
> **CW for mentions of drowning and mild violence (someone gets knocked out).**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back!
> 
> So here it it. The final chapter. Finally.  
> I want to give the massivest of thank you's to my three lovely friends Sher, Cami and Pai. Not only did they create amazing art for this fic, but their constant support has been vital for me as I was writing it. I'm honestly not sure I would have finished it if it wasn't for them, so thank you, I love you 🥰  
> Thank you to everyone else who's been giving me feedback or leaving kudos along the way, they've truly helped too 💜  
> And finally, I want to give a shout-out to the beautiful landscapes of British Columbia, as well as all the songs on [the playlist](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4KW8jRUdrt9OjArcWVJKa8?si=c3_c3GD3SP6UzrAA251YeA). They really kept me inspired and motivated throughout this sometimes frustrating process.
> 
> Anyway, that's it for the thanks and acknowledgements. I hope you enjoy the chapter. ✨

The night had truly fallen now. Louis was sitting at the front of the boat, trying to empty his mind of all the stressful thoughts that were plaguing it. They had a few hours to spare before making it to Eroda, and he couldn’t help but think of how Harry had made that same journey alone a few days before, and how scared he must have felt. 

Zayn joined him at the front and sat beside him, their arms touching and bringing each other some warmth in the cold November night. They were both looking at the dark water that was only illuminated by the soft moonlight, not saying anything for a while. Zayn eventually broke the silence:

“So… You and Harry, huh?”

Louis shrugged.

“Yeah. No one’s surprised, I guess.”

“Not really, no”, Zayn smirked. “I can’t blame you though, he seems great. And I’m happy you finally got to meet him after all these years. It was starting to get old to hear you pine for him all the time.”

“I wasn’t _pining_!” Louis scoffed, and his friend raised an eyebrow. “Okay yeah, maybe I was pining a little… But have you seen him? He’s so beautiful, like proper beautiful inside and out, and I can’t believe he would go for someone like me, you know?”

“Don’t say that, it’s total bullshit. You’ve been here for him for literal years, and I’m sure he feels as lucky to have you as you do. So stop putting yourself down like that. You deserve to be happy, okay?”

Louis teared his gaze away from the water and found that Zayn was already looking at him earnestly. He gave a faint smile.

“Okay, fine. When did we become so sappy, by the way?”

“Sorry to break this to you, but we’ve always been sappy. And the fact that we just saved your boyfriend from almost drowning probably didn’t help.”

“Fair enough”, Louis nodded, and he rested his head on his best friend’s shoulder. Zayn put his arm around him, and they both looked up at the moon, falling into companionable silence for a while.

🖂🖂🖂

The hiding place that Maura had mentioned in her letter was a cave nestled in the cliffs on the west coast of the island, in what was the most isolated part of Eroda. They stirred the boat towards the tall rocks just as the sky was turning from deep purple to dark blue, a few minutes before the sun actually started to rise. They spotted the round shape of the cave somewhere in the middle of the grey rocks, and soon they reached a strand of sand just in front of it, and they anchored the boat. Two silhouettes came out of the shadows. The tallest was a guy with brownish hair, blue eyes, a round face and a friendly demeanor. Somehow he was exactly how Louis had pictured him all these years. He recognized Maura thanks to old photographs his mum had shown him. She was much older, of course, but still had a youthful and energetic look about her, and despite her small stature, you could tell she was a very fierce woman who didn’t let anybody get in her way.

“Hi guys”, said Niall. “Glad you made it safely. We weren’t really sure if anyone would be coming.”

Maura got closer to them and watched them one by one. When her eyes fell on Louis’ face, she turned a little pale.

“Oh my god. You look so much like your mother. Come here, honey”, she said as she hugged him, taking him by surprise.

“Right. I’m guessing you’re Louis, then”, said Niall a few seconds later, shaking his hand.

“Yeah. And here are my friends Zayn and Liam.”

Once they’d all finished greeting each other, Niall grabbed Louis’ arm and asked:

“How’s Harry?”

“He’s okay. As fine as can be, I guess. I just hope we can rescue Anne and bring her to Stonell, because he’s worried sick about her.”

“We will, don’t worry”, Maura declared. “Have you guys thought of a plan to infiltrate the police station?”

They had entered the cave and started walking through a narrow tunnel, Niall leading them with a torch.

“Yes, kind of”, Louis answered. “Here’s what we were thinking: maybe you and Niall could distract people at the front desk, create some kind of drama so most officers come and see what’s up? Meanwhile we could sneak into the station through the back door, and free Anne. My gift should allow us to open any door that stands in our way.”

“That sounds feasible”, replied Maura thoughtfully. “We Horans live for the drama, don’t we Niall?”

He just chuckled in response and continued walking.

“Do you know where the holding cells are, though?” Liam asked.

“I’m not exactly sure, but the station is really small. You should find them easily.”

“Yes, and I can use Anne’s emotions to find where she is anyway”, Zayn pointed out.

“Okay, so I guess that’s the plan, then. It does feel a little minimalist”, Louis pondered.

“We’ll probably have to improvise some stuff. But it should be fine”, Liam said as they were exiting the tunnel and coming out on an empty country road, where a small blue car was waiting for them.

Louis didn’t want to destroy everybody's optimism, so he simply nodded as they all got in the car and took off.

The drive to the police station was mostly silent. Louis was looking out the window, trying to recognize the fields and the cliffs and the colourful houses that were scattered along the road, but even though they all seemed familiar somehow, he was pretty sure it was only because Harry had described them to him so often in the past, and not because he actually remembered them from his childhood. He felt weird about finally being there after all these years. He could tell that, objectively, it was a very beautiful place, but knowing how awful things actually were for his own people on Eroda, he couldn't help but feel some kind of disgust towards it.

They eventually made it to town, and Maura parked the car in a quiet street just on the outskirts of the busier downtown area. 

“Alright”, she said, turning back on her seat to look at them. “The police station is a small brick building right next to the church, it should be easy for you to find. I think it’s better if we split up here, so as not to draw attention. And let’s meet back here in 30 minutes? Do you think it’s going to be enough?”

And in that exact moment, Louis truly realized the gravity of what they were about to attempt  — infiltrate a police station and help someone escape from jail. Zayn looked stunned as well, but whispered:

“Hopefully yes.” 

“I brought this as a disguise for Anne.” Maura took something out of her pocket and held it out to Louis. It was a blonde wig. “For when you walk back here. I mean, it’s early morning so it’s pretty quiet, but the streets might get a little busy and we don’t want anyone recognizing her  —  especially not the brigade.”

“Oh, and I have something for you too”, Niall added, opening the glove box and taking a small baseball bat from it. “I thought it might be useful, just in case you need to defend yourself.”

Neither Louis nor Zayn could bring themselves to take it, so Liam grabbed the bat from Niall’s hand and hid it inside his thick winter coat. 

“Good call. Hopefully we won’t have to use it, but it’s better to come prepared.”

“Okay, let’s go”, Maura said decidedly.

So they all got out of the car, and Niall and his mum set off and quickly disappeared out the corner.

“I’m shitting my pants, guys”, Louis muttered.

“Me too. But it’s gonna be fine, I promise”, Zayn said, gripping his shoulder for a split second.

“Yeah. It’s gonna be fine”, Liam repeated, but he didn’t look convinced at all.

🖂🖂🖂

Everything went well until they reached the hallway where the holding cells were and realized a tall muscular guy was standing guard in front of the door. They quickly backed behind the corner before he could see them, and looked at each other, panicked.

“What do we do?” Louis whispered as quietly as he could.

He glanced at the guy, who was definitely impressive and pretty scary too. They could hear Maura’s high-pitched voice in the distance, apparently in the middle of a heated argument with the front desk people, but the guy remained expressionless and unbothered, and there was no indication that he was going to go check out what was happening. He probably had very clear orders that he should stay there, which at least was a pretty good sign that Anne was actually in the cell.

“Okay, follow my lead, I’m gonna try something”, Zayn said. “If it fails, you might have to use that bat, hon”, he added for Liam.

So they turned the corner again and walked swiftly to the guy, who eventually spotted them and frowned. But before he could open his mouth, Zayn said calmly:

“You’re right. You _should_ feel guilty about cheating on her.”

The guy’s face turned white in a matter of seconds. He completely ignored Louis and Liam as he stared at Zayn, and asked:

“What the fuck did you say?”

Zayn stepped right in front of him and whispered to his ear:

“I’m saying it’s very ugly to cheat on your girlfriend of three years, mate.”

Louis was quite fascinated by the scene, but he quickly pulled himself together and tried to open the heavy metal door, which was obviously locked. So he focused on his magic and forgot everything else for a few seconds, hardly noticing how the guard was gripping Zayn by the shoulders, menacingly grunting “Just repeat what you said, fucker”, at which point Liam hit him at the back of his head with the baseball bat, effectively knocking him out just as Louis unlocked the door and swung it open. He turned around in time to see the guard fall to the ground with a muted noise, and smirked:

“That’s one way to do it, Li. Come on, let’s go in.”

When they entered the room, they immediately spotted a woman behind the bars. She was sitting against the wall on a tiny bed, looking defeated, but when she looked up and saw them, she frowned and got up, walking to the edge of her cell.

“Who are you?”

Louis walked up to her while his two friends stayed behind and watched the door.

“Anne, is that you?” Louis asked just to be sure, but there was no doubt in his mind it was indeed her, as she had the exact same eyes and eyebrows as her son.

“Yes. Who are you?”, she repeated.

“I’m Louis. Harry’s friend from Stonell. And here are Zayn and Liam. We’re here to rescue you.”

A wave of relief seemed to wash over her face.

Louis smiled and added:

“I’m just gonna open the door, it should only take a few seconds. Oh, and you should put this on, just in case.”

He gave her the wig through the bars.

Soon the door was open and she was stepping out, looking so different with blonde hair that it was uncanny.

“Okay, we’ll have to be quick and quiet now”, said Zayn.

So they swiftly exited the room and started walking down the hallway when Liam stopped dead in his tracks and said:

“Wait. I have to do something.”

And he went back to where the guard was still lying on the ground and knelt beside him, apparently about to heal his concussion.

“Is he fucking serious?” Louis asked.

Zayn rolled his eyes, looking a little fond.

“That’s Liam for you. I’ll wait for him, but you and Anne go ahead, it’s probably better to split up anyway. We’ll meet you at the car in…” He checked his watch. “Ten minutes.”

So Louis and Harry’s mum set off again and managed to get out of the station unnoticed.

“Okay, let’s just walk slowly and unsuspiciously”, Louis said, taking Anne by the elbow and gently guiding her in the direction of the car.

Just as they were turning the corner of the street, they spotted two familiar figures walking a few meters in front of them.

“Is that Maura and Niall?” Anne asked. “I don’t understand much, I have to admit.”

“They’ve been helping us distract people at the station. And now we’re all going to meet at Maura’s car, and she’s going to drive us back to our boat so we can join Stonell as soon as possible. Does that sound good?”

“Yes”, Anne nodded. “But Harry?”

“Oh my god, I’m sorry, I should have told you right away. He made it to Stonell safe, and he’s completely fine, don’t worry. He stayed there with my family, but he’s really worried about you, as we all were. I can’t wait to see his face when he sees you.”

Anne tightened her grip on his arm and nodded, apparently a little too choked to say anything.

They made it to Maura’s car a few minutes later and immediately got in, Anne sitting on the passenger seat and hugging her friend as soon as she saw her.

Louis sat beside Niall in the back, and asked him:

“How did it go? I could hear your mum argue about something but couldn’t make out what it was about.”

“Oh, it was pretty stupid, actually”, Niall chuckled. “She was complaining that I was making a lot of noise and being a bad neighbour and asking them if they could fine me or something, and they were like: ‘Um, he’s your son, that’s not how it works ma’am’. And then I pretended to be mad at her too, and we kind of got carried away and launched into a huge fight until they basically kicked us out.”

Louis laughed for the first time in what seemed like ages.

“Well, I’m glad it worked.”

“What about you though? Where are Liam and Zayn?”

“Oh, it went perfectly except Liam had to knock out a guard, and he stopped on his way out to heal him because he’s a softie. But they should be back any minute now, hopefully.”

And indeed, Zayn opened the door a few moments later, and the four of them squished up in the back of the car.

“Everyone ready to go?” Maura asked.

“Yep. Let’s finally leave this hellish place!”, Niall exclaimed.

“Wait, you’re coming with us to Stonell?” Anne asked, and Louis was quite surprised as well.

“Yes, why not? Now that you’ll be going too, there’s really nothing keeping us here, is there? And I’m pretty sure they’re going to figure out we helped you escape anyway, so I guess we don’t have a choice”, Maura shrugged.

“And you’re okay with that?” Louis asked. “I mean, leaving everything behind, even though you’re not magic and you could stay here?”

“It’s been a long time coming, honey”, Maura answered, and they took off.

🖂🖂🖂

Back on the boat, Louis suddenly felt worn-out. He realized he hadn’t slept for over a day, and even though they’d only spent a couple of hours at the most on Eroda, it had definitely been one of the most intense and stress-inducing moments of his life. That and rescuing Harry a few days before. 

It was weird how he’d been waiting for something  — anything  —  to happen for all these years, and it had all come crashing down on him in the course of a few days. Now he was lying down on the side of the boat, lulled by the sound of Liam and Zayn recounting their rescue mission to Niall. He closed his eyes and tried to focus on the mesmerising swing of the waves.

In his drowsy state, he hardly noticed Anne sitting down beside him and whispering:

“Thank you so much, Louis. Harry and I owe you a lot.”

He felt her grip his hand for a split second but couldn’t bring himself to open his eyes and answer.

He wanted to say that it was nothing, that there wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do for Harry, but his tongue felt heavy and he fell asleep soon afterwards, thinking of everyone eagerly waiting for them on Stonell.

🖂🖂🖂

He woke up just as the Stonell coast was coming in sight in the late afternoon light. He sat up and stretched, then realized that a pair of blue eyes was on him.

“That was quite a nap you took”, Niall smiled.

“I can’t have been the only one, though.”

“Nah, the two lovebirds just woke up as well”, Niall answered, pointing at Zayn and Liam, who were apparently in the middle of a making out session at the back of the boat, while the two mums were chatting at the front, blissfully unaware of it.

Louis rolled his eyes.

“Ugh, excuse their disgusting coupl-y manners, you’ll have to get used to that.”

“Yeah. And I bet you and Harry will be even worse, won’t you?”

Louis felt himself blush.

“How do you… Did Zayn tell you something?”

“Please mate, Harry’s been in love with you since he was twelve. And I had your letters, remember?”

Louis froze.

“You read them?”

“I mean, not exactly. But I couldn’t help but glance at a few sentences here and there when I destroyed them. Sorry.”

“Whatever”, Louis whispered. “It’s not like I’m ashamed of it anyway.”

“For what it’s worth, as Harry’s official best friend, you have my blessing.”

“Thanks Niall. I didn’t wait for your blessing, but it still means a lot”, he joked, bumping his elbow into his new friend’s side.

“Oh my god, what have you done to Harry?” Niall exclaimed in fake shock.

“What? Nothing!” Louis’ face was probably full-on red now. “I mean… we kissed, that’s all.”

“Still, that was fast, lad”, Niall chuckled.

“Well, as your mum would say, I think it was a long time coming.”

🖂🖂🖂

They finally reached the shore just as the sun was starting to set. Liam anchored the boat and it felt like coming full circles. Louis’ heart was racing with excitement at the prospect of seeing Harry again, and having him be reunited with his mum and best friend.

He jumped off the boat first, then helped Anne get off, and just as he was turning back around, he saw Harry run towards them, and launch himself into his mother’s arms.

Louis took a step back and watched them fondly, a large grin appearing on his face. 

They were hugging each other so tightly it felt like it would take hours to separate them. But soon, Louis was caught in a hug himself when his own mum joined them and took him in her arms.

“Thank god you came back safe”, she whispered. “You’re forbidden to leave this place again for the next fifty years, alright?” she said with tears in her eyes, and Louis chuckled, caressing her hair.

“Oh, didn't I tell you? Harry and I are going on a round-the-world trip and leaving first thing tomorrow.”

She rolled her eyes and patted his cheek gently.

“You just never stop, do you?”

He shrugged.

“That’s how I cope, I guess.”

Then Jay turned to Maura and Niall, and the two friends shrieked when they saw each other, immediately jumping into each other’s arms and chattering excitedly, suddenly looking like two schoolgirls who meet again after summer break.

“Wow. I’ve never seen my mum look so excited”, Niall said, and Harry must have heard him because he finally disentangled himself from his own mum’s arms and rushed to his best friend, much in the same way Jay had just a few seconds before.

When the two pairs finally calmed down after what seemed like ages, they all started walking up the beach towards the Tomlinsons’ house. Anne and Jay were leading their group, apparently hitting it off already.

Louis lagged behind a little, and finally Harry came to join him. They started walking side by side, their fingers occasionally brushing and sending little sparks of electricity along Louis’ spine.

“I can’t believe you guys did it”, Harry said.

“Honestly, I can’t quite believe it either”, Louis admitted. 

“Was it scary?”

“Yeah, but... It went so fast. I mean, I don’t think I fully realized what we were doing. Probably haven’t even realized yet. So in a sense it wasn’t that bad. And I’m just happy everyone is here now.”

“Me too. Thank you so much for bringing my mum back, I’m so freaking relieved. And I didn’t expect Niall and Maura to come as well, so it’s just the cherry on top, you know? I haven’t felt that happy in a long time. Well… if you except our first kiss.” He mumbled that last sentence, blushing a little.

Louis finally took his hand and interlaced their fingers.

“Yeah, it was a pretty good kiss, wasn't it? Looking forward to lots more in the future.”

Harry grinned, his dimples on full display.

“Me too. And actually, I found something out while you were gone.”

“Oh really? What is it?”

“Well, I was painting something for you, and I was thinking about our kiss while I was doing it, because… Wait, let me show you.”

He took a piece of paper out of his pocket and handed it to Louis, who took it carefully. It was quite dark by now so he couldn’t see all the details, but it seemed to be a beautiful replica of the sunflower and the rose Harry had made appear a few days before. Their stems and leaves were intertwined just in the way their own fingers were right now.

“Thank you so much, that’s beautiful, love”, he whispered, pressing a kiss to Harry’s cheek.

“Thanks, Lou”, Harry answered, kissing him back. “But anyway… As I was drawing it and thinking of us, I suddenly realized that my magic wasn’t triggered. Like, I was expecting that tingling sensation and the switch to happen, but they never came. So I started thinking, maybe my anchor has changed. Because you mentioned that it was possible a long time ago, right?”

Louis frowned and searched his memory for all the anchor theories he’d learned about at school years prior.

“Yeah, I mean, I think it’s pretty rare, but I’ve heard of it. Have you tried the other anchor though?”

“Yes”, Harry said excitedly. “I started another drawing and this time I thought about that memory of him on my birthday, and it didn’t work!”

And they were both facing each other now. Harry looked so happy, and Louis felt himself get carried away with the excitement as well.

“Wow. So you’re telling me, you have a new anchor and it’s… us?”

Harry bit his lip.

“I think so. I know it’s a little extra, but yeah.”

“Hey, don’t be embarrassed. You don’t choose these things. I think it’s amazing your anchor is a much happier memory now, and you won’t have to think about the other one anymore if you don’t want to. And also, the fact that it’s us… I’m honored, and it makes me so happy. I think it’s beautiful.”

“Really?”

“Of course, love. You’re everything to me, didn’t you know?”

Harry took a step closer, and not for the first time  — and certainly not the last either  — Louis was in awe of how beautiful he was, especially now as the moon was shining on his hair and making his eyes look almost transparent.

“You’re everything to me too, Lou”, he whispered.

“Good”, Louis smiled. “Can we kiss now?” 

“Oh, that’s all that matters to you, then?” Harry raised his eyebrows, faking outrage.

“I mean… You should see your lips.”

“You should see _your_ lips”, Harry answered just before  — finally  —  kissing him. 

Louis realized how much he’d been missing that feeling already, and how familiar and sweet and comforting it was. He suddenly let go of all the tension and the pressure he’d been holding inside ever since they’d left Stonell, and focused on the moment, on Harry’s lips against his and the way he was caressing his hair, and he just couldn’t believe his luck that they’d be able to be together as much as they wanted from now on. When they pulled off, a little breathless, he said:

“Sorry, you know I didn’t mean that, right? I’m just pretty bad at dealing with emotional moments. But I love you. Not just for your lips. I just… love you.”

Harry took his hand again, pressing a small kiss in its palm.

“I know, Lou. And I love you too.”

They both smiled and Louis nodded. Harry nodded in return, still grinning, then said:

“Alright. Let’s go home now.” 

So they caught up with the rest of the group, locking arms with Jay and Anne, and started talking about what they would be doing the next day.

Louis turned back to look at Maura and Niall, who were chattering excitedly, and Zayn and Liam, who were walking hand in hand and both winked at him when they saw him watching them. Then he turned to his mum, Anne and Harry, and seeing them all together, quickly joined by his sisters once they made it to the house, made him feel completely at peace for the first time in years. 

Maybe things with Eroda weren’t solved yet, but it felt like the beginning, and they could work with that. In any case, they deserved to enjoy that momentary feeling of completeness and happiness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm definitely going to write an epilogue at some point, but I have no idea if it's going to be in a few days, weeks, or months. Stay tuned though 😊  
> In the meantime, you can come talk to me on [Tumblr](https://quelsentiment.tumblr.com/), and reblog [this post](https://quelsentiment.tumblr.com/post/626555145247981568/up-on-the-shore-by-wordsnnotes-aka-me-m-32k) if you want.  
> Thank you thank you thank you 💕


	10. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for everyone's support since I've completed this fic 💕  
> As promised, here's a very short epilogue.

_I'll kiss the ground_   
_I'll tell my mother_   
_I'll tell my father_   
_I'll tell my loved ones_   
_I'll tell my brothers_   
_How much I love them_

Kate Bush — The Morning Fog

🖂🖂🖂

**[Extract from the Eroda Bulletin]**

Date: November 13, 1975

Last minute: Mother of the magician boy who escaped from Eroda broke from jail this morning

As we reported two days ago, a 15-year-old Erodan boy suspected of sorcery managed to escape from the island, and potentially joined Stonell on a boat. His mother was arrested on that night and charged for hiding her son’s magical abilities from the authorities, as well as helping him develop said abilities. 

The Erodan police station just reported that she managed to break from her cell early this morning, aided by five accomplices. Two of them were non-magician residents of Eroda, and the remaining three were magicians who didn’t seem to be locals. The group quickly vanished and it is assumed that they managed to join Stonell as well.

This succession of events marks the first time individuals fled our island since the schism. 

The Erodan government declined our request for further comments.

🐟🐟🐟

Year 16

**[Extract from the Eroda Bulletin]**

Date: March 25, 1976

More and more people leaving Eroda as President Cowell faces increasing criticism

Ever since the escape of Anne Styles, Maura Horan, and their respective sons back in November of last year, more and more Erodans are leaving the island and seemingly moving to Stonell. We managed to interview some of these people, who are either magicians or supporters of magic people. They pointed out to us that they have been faced with constant unease and anxiety ever since President Cowell’s election sixteen years ago and the ensuing schism. They therefore decided to follow the Styles and Horans’ footsteps, and move to Stonell in order to be able to live without the fear of being arrested for supporting or using magic.

Considering this continuous loss of Erodan residents, which is starting to impact the economy of the island, some voices — including inside the government — are beginning to raise their concerns, and ask for more leniency towards magic users and supporters. President Cowell has remained silent on this issue so far, but internal sources have reported to us that he is facing a lot of pressure from his team and things might take a turn in the following weeks or months.

We will of course continue to update our readers on this situation.

🐟🐟🐟

Year 17

**[Extract from the Eroda Bulletin]**

Date: February 1st, 1977

Last minute: President Cowell steps down after months of uprising, and new elections to be held for the first time in 17 years

In a communiqué that was released in the early hours of the morning, Mr. Cowell announced that he was stepping down from his role of president, effective immediately. He did not give specific reasons for his decision, but said: “It has given me great pleasure and pride to serve this island for the past 17 years, and I do hope my legacy will remain in the Erodan minds for centuries to come. I will now go on a much deserved retirement.” 

This announcement follows months of intense uprising from the population, which started as a fight for the rights of magic people, but quickly turned into a more general movement against Mr. Cowell and his team’s control over the political situation of the island.

New presidential elections have already been announced, and will be held on April 1st after three weeks of campaigning. All candidates who wish to run for president are invited to make themselves known to the Organization Committee before February 15th.

🖂🖂🖂

**[Letter from Jay]**

My love,

Great news! Cowell has finally surrendered, and Eroda will have a new president in the coming weeks. We just learnt about it this morning in the Stonell paper. Anne actually came to tell me about it during breakfast, and I’d rarely seen her so excited. I am so happy too. I just hope Erodan people will make the right decision and elect a good person this time. But it’s already such a big step forward, and it feels like the mentality towards magicians is slowly changing over there. After all, it all started because people were indignant at what happened to Harry and Anne.

Anyway, that’s what’s new on our end. We all miss you two very much, of course, and we can’t wait for you to get back home. But once again, I am also happy that you and Harry are getting to explore the world and see all that it has to offer. I hope you’re doing well, and enjoying it as much as you can. Harry must be making beautiful art, and I know I speak for Anne too when I say we can’t wait to see it.

I’m afraid I have to go to work, love. I hadn’t planned on sending a letter so soon after you left, but I just had to share the news with you both. Also, you’ll be getting this a little late, but happy birthday to Harry! Please tell him the girls and I wish him all the best for the year to come.

I leave this letter into Ari’s good hands — I mean, legs. Could you keep her with you for a while before sending her back? I’m sure she’ll be quite worn-out from such an unusually long trip.

I’m sending you and Harry all my love. Please take care of yourselves and each other. We’ll see you soon.

Love,

Mum

🖂🖂🖂

**[Letter from Louis]**

Hi mum,

Thank you so much for your letter. We were a little worried when we spotted Ari way earlier than we would have expected, but it quickly turned into joy when we learned the news. How amazing is it! We still can’t quite believe it’s real, to be honest.

Harry in particular is very excited, and we’ve been talking about possibly going back to Eroda some time in the future. Of course we’ll wait until we’re sure it’s 100% safe to do so, but I think we both need to make peace with the place. And I’m sure you all feel the same way. Maybe we could take a family trip there at some point? I mean, with Anne and the Horans, obviously.

Otherwise, we’re really enjoying the mainland. We’re in the city now, and it’s so nice to see so many new faces. Magicians and non-magicians are living together without any sign of conflict, just like a much bigger Stonell, and I know Harry is still in awe of this. We’ll stay here for maybe another month, then take a train to the south coast, and from there who knows? We’re not quite short on cash yet, don’t worry. H is selling a lot of his art at a good price, and surprisingly a few people seem to have taken a liking to my gift as well. I’ve created some useful spells for customers here and there, and the demand keeps increasing — I genuinely never thought this would happen, but I’m finally starting to like my own gift and see some value in it. And of course Harry is as supportive as always, bless him.

Anyway, I think I have to go now. H is calling me to help him make dinner — he still refuses to accept that I’m useless in the kitchen, but between you and I, I think he just wants the company and loves to show off his skills to me.

Please say hi to everyone for us. Harry will be writing to Anne and Niall soon, I think he’s just waiting to paint the perfect pictures to send alongside his letters.

Tell the girls and Zayn I miss them like crazy. Liam too, actually, but there’s no need to tell him, he’d be all smug about it when I come back and I can’t have that happen. 

Bye, mum. I know you miss me and I miss you too, but we’ll be back before you know it. 

And also… Thank you for letting us go. I know it’s difficult for you and Anne, and trust me it’s difficult for us too, but we’re having a great time, and I can’t wait for us to be back and tell you all about it.

I love you,

Louis

I love all of you too and I miss you so much. See you very soon!

Harry


End file.
